SCIENCE  SKETCHES 


SCIENCE    SKETCHES 


C 


SCIENCE  SKETCHES 


BY 


DAVID   STARR  JORDAN 


anfc  ISnlarjcjelJ  lEtution 


CHICAGO 

A.  C.  McCLURG   AND   COMPANY 
1899 


COPYRIGHT 
BY  A.  C.  MCCLURG  AND  Co. 

A.D.  1887. 

COPYRIGHT 
BY  A.  C.  MCCLURG  AND  Co. 

A.D.    1896. 


TO 


HULDAH    HAWLEY   JORDAN, 


PREFACE. 


r  I  ^HIS  volume  is  made  up  of  sketches 
reprinted  from  various  periodicals,  and 
coming  under  the  general  head  of  popular 
science.  Most  of  these  articles  have  been 
freely  retouched  since  their  original  appear- 
ance. The  volume  corresponds  in  part  to 
the  first  edition  of  "  Science  Sketches,"  pub- 
lished in  1887.  Eight  of  the  articles  are  the 
same,  being  printed  from  the  same  plates, 
with  a  few  verbal  changes.  For  certain 
others  of  the  first  edition,  —  the  accounts  of 
"  Agassiz  at  Penikese,"  "  The  Fate  of  Icio- 
dorum,"  "The  Story  of  a  Strange  Land," 
and  "How  the  Trout  came  to  California,"  — 
articles  written  since  1887  have  been  sub- 
stituted. The  author  wishes  to  express  his 
especial  obligations  to  Messrs.  D.  Appleton 


vi  PREFACE. 

&  Company  for  permission  to  reprint  the 
six  articles  which  have  appeared  in  the 
"  Popular  Science  Monthly."  He  is  also 
indebted  for  similar  permission  to  the  pub- 
lishers of  the  "American  Naturalist,"  "St. 
Nicholas,"  "Recreation,"  and  the  "Riverside 
Natural  History,"  from  each  of  which  pub- 
lications one  article  has  been  taken. 


LELAND  STANFORD  JR.  UNIVERSITY, 

PALO  ALTO,  CAL.,  April  30,  1896. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

I.  THE  STORY  OF  A  SALMON 9 

II.  JOHNNY  DARTERS 20 

III.  THE  SALMON  FAMILY    . 35 

IV.  THE  DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES  83 
V.  AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE 133 

•VI.  AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST  .......  153 

VII.  A  CUBAN  FISHERMAN 170 

VIII.  THE  FATE  OF  ICIODORUM 181 

-  IX.  THE  STORY  OF  A  STONE 224 

X.  AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN      ...  232 

•*  XI.  THE  STORY  OF  A  STRANGE  LAND  ....  256 

-  XII.  How  THE  TROUT  CAME  TO  CALIFORNIA  .    .  267 


SCIENCE  SKETCHES, 


THE   STORY  OF  A  SALMON. 

IN  the  realm  of  the  Northwest  Wind,  on  the 
boundary-line  between  the  dark  fir-forests  and 
the  sunny  plains,  there  stands  a  mountain,  —  a 
great  white  cone  two  miles  and  a  half  in  perpen- 
dicular height.  On  its  lower  mile  the  dense  fir- 
woods  cover  it  with  never-changing  green ;  on  its 
next  half-mile  a  lighter  green  of  grass  and  bushes 
gives  place  in  winter  to  white ;  and  on  its  upper- 
most mile  the  snows  of  the  great  ice  age  still 
linger  in  unspotted  purity.  The  people  of  Wash- 
ington Territory  say  that  their  mountain  is  the 
great  "  King-pin  of  the  Universe,"  which  shows 
that  even  in  its  own  country  Mount  Tacoma  is 
not  without  honor. 

Flowing  down  from  the  southwest  slope  of 
Mount  Tacoma  is  a  cold,  clear  river,  fed  by  the 
melting  snows  of  the  mountain.  Madly  it  hastens 
down  over  white  cascades  and  beds  of  shining 
sands,  through  birch-woods  and  belts  of  dark  firs, 
to  mingle  its  waters  at  last  with  those  of  the  great 
Columbia.  This  river  is  the  Cowlitz;  and  on  its 
bottom,  not  many  years  ago,  there  lay  half  buried 


10  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

in  the  sand  a  number  of  little  orange-colored 
globules,  each  about  as  large  as  a  pea.  These 
were  not  much  in  themselves,  but  great  in  their 
possibilities.  In  the  waters  above  them  little 
suckers  and  chubs  and  prickly  sculpins  strained 
their  mouths  to  draw  these  globules  from  the 
sand,  and  vicious-looking  crawfishes  picked  them 
up  with  their  blundering  hands  and  examined 
them  with  their  telescopic  eyes.  But  one,  at 
least,  of  the  globules  escaped  their  curiosity,  else 
this  story  would  not  be  worth  telling.  The  sun 
shone  down  on  it  through  the  clear  water,  and  the 
ripples  of  the  Cowlitz  said  over  it  their  incanta- 
tions, and  in  it  at  last  awoke  a  living  being.  It 
was  a  fish,  —  a  curious  little  fellow,  not  half  an  inch 
long,  with  great,  staring  eyes,  which  made  almost 
half  his  length,  and  with  a  body  so  transparent 
that  he  could  not  cast  a  shadow.  He  was  a  little 
salmon,  a  very  little  salmon ;  but  the  water  was 
good,  and  there  were  flies  and  worms  and  little 
living  creatures  in  abundance  for  him  to  eat,  and 
he  soon  became  a  larger  salmon.  Then  there  were 
many  more  little  salmon  with  him,  some  larger 
and  some  smaller,  and  they  all  had  a  merry  time. 
Those  who  had  been  born  soonest  and  had  grown 
largest  used  to  chase  the  others  around  and  bite 
off  their  tails,  or,  still  better,  take  them  by  the 
heads  and  swallow  them  whole;  for,  said  they, 
"  even  young  salmon  are  good  eating."  "  Heads 
I  win,  tails  you  lose,"  was  their  motto.  Thus, 
what  was  once  two  small  salmon  became  united 
into  a  single  larger  one,  and  the  process  of  "  ad- 
dition, division,  and  silence  "  still  went  on. 


THE  STORY  OF  A   SALMON.  II 

By-and-by,  when  all  the  salmon  were  too  large 
to  be  swallowed,  they  began  to  grow  restless. 
They  saw  that  the  water  rushing  by  seemed  to 
be  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  somewhere,  and  it  was 
somehow  suggested  that  its  hurry  was  caused  by 
something  good  to  eat  at  the  other  end  of  its 
course.  Then  they  all  started  down  the  stream, 
salmon-fashion,  —  which  fashion  is  to  get  into  the 
current,  head  up-stream,  and  thus  to  drift  backward 
as  the  river  sweeps  along. 

Down  the  Cowlitz  River  the  salmon  went  for  a 
day  and  a  night,  finding  much  to  interest  them 
which  we  need  not  know.  At  last  they  began  to 
grow  hungry ;  and  coming  near  the  shore,  they  saw 
an  angle-worm  of  rare  size  and  beauty  floating  in 
an  eddy  of  the  stream.  Quick  as  thought  one  of 
them  opened  his  mouth,  which  was  well  filled  with 
teeth  of  different  sizes,  and  put  it  around  tha  angle- 
worm. Quicker  still  he  felt  a  sharp  pain  in  his 
gills,  followed  by  a  smothering  sensation,  and  in 
an  instant  his  comrades  saw  him  rise  straight  into 
the  air.  This  was  nothing  new  to  them ;  for  they 
often  leaped  out  of  the  water  in  their  games  of 
hide-and-seek,  but  only  to  come  down  again  with 
a  loud  splash  not  far  from  where  they  went  out. 
But  this  one  never  came  back,  and  the  others  went 
on  their  course  wondering. 

At  last  they  came  to  where  the  Cowlitz  and  the 
Columbia  join,  and  they  were  almost  lost  for  a 
time ;  for  they  could  find  no  shores,  and  the  bottom 
and  the  top  of  the  water  were  so  far  apart.  Here 
they  saw  other  and  far  larger  salmon  in  the  deepest 
part  of  the  current,  turning  neither  to  the  right  nor 


12  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

to  the  left,  but  swimming  right  on  up-stream  just 
as  rapidly  as  they  could.  And  these  great  salmon 
would  not  stop  for  them,  and  would  not  lie  and  float 
with  the  current.  They  had  no  time  to  talk,  even 
in  the  simple  sign-language  by  which  fishes  express 
their  ideas,  and  no  time  to  eat.  They  had  im- 
portant work  before  them,  and  the  time  was  short 
So  they  went  on  up  the  river,  keeping  their  great 
purposes  to  themselves ;  and  our  little  salmon  and 
his  friends  from  the  Cowlitz  drifted  down  the 
stream. 

By-and-by  the  water  began  to  change.  It  grew 
denser,  and  no  longer  flowed  rapidly  along;  and 
twice  a  day  it  used  to  turn  about  and  flow  the  other 
way.  Then  the  shores  disappeared,  and  the  water 
began  to  have  a  different  and  peculiar  flavor,  —  a 
flavor  which  seemed  to  the  salmon  much  richer  and 
more  inspiring  than  the  glacier-water  of  their  native 
Cowlitz.  There  were  many  curious  things  to  see, 
—  crabs  with  hard  shells  and  savage  faces,  but  so 
good  when  crushed  and  swallowed !  Then  there 
were  luscious  squid  swimming  about;  and,  to  a 
salmon,  squid  are  like  ripe  peaches  and  cream. 
There  were  great  companies  of  delicate  sardines 
and  herring,  green  and  silvery,  and  it  was  such 
fun  to  chase  and  capture  them !  Those  who  eat 
sardines  packed  in  oil  by  greasy  fingers,  and 
herrings  dried  in  the  smoke,  can  have  little  idea 
how  satisfying  it  is  to  have  a  meal  of  them,  plump 
and  sleek  and  silvery,  fresh  from  the  sea. 

Thus  the  salmon  chased  the  herrings  about,  and 
had  a  merry  time.  Then  they  were  chased  about 
in  turn  by  great  sea-lions,  —  swimming  monsters 


THE  STORY  OF  A   SALMON.  13 

with  huge  half-human  faces,  long  thin  whiskers,  and 
blundering  ways.  The  sea-lions  liked  to  bite  out 
the  throat  of  a  salmon,  with  its  precious  stomach 
full  of  luscious  sardines,  and  then  to  leave  the  rest 
of  the  fish  to  shift  for  itself.  And  the  seals  and 
the  herrings  scattered  the  salmon  about,  till  at  last 
the  hero  of  our  story  found  himself  quite  alone, 
with  none  of  his  own  kind  near  him.  But  that 
did  not  trouble  him  much,  and  he  went  on  his 
own  way,  getting  his  dinner  when  he  was  hungry, 
which  was  all  the  time,  and  then  eating  a  little 
between  meals  for  his  stomach's  sake. 

So  it  went  on  for  three  long  years ;  and  at  the 
end  of  this  time  our  little  fish  had  grown  to  be  a 
great,  fine  salmon  of  twenty-two  pounds'  weight, 
shining  like  a  new  tin  pan,  and  with  rows  of  the 
loveliest  round  black  spots  on  his  head  and  back 
and  tail.  One  day,  as  he  was  swimming  about,  idly 
chasing  a  big  sculpin  with  a  head  so  thorny  that  he 
never  was  swallowed  by  anybody,  all  of  a  sudden 
the  salmon  noticed  a  change  in  the  water  around 
him. 

Spring  had  come  again,  and  the  south-lying 
snow-drifts  on  the  Cascade  Mountains  once  more 
felt  that  the  "  earth  was  wheeling  sunwards."  The 
cold  snow  waters  ran  down  from  the  mountains  and 
into  the  Columbia  River,  and  made  a  freshet  on  the 
river.  The  high  water  went  far  out  into  the  sea, 
and  out  in  the  sea  our  salmon  felt  it  on  his  gills. 
He  remembered  how  the  cold  water  used  to  feel 
in  the  Cowlitz  when  he  was  a  little  fish.  In  a 
blundering,  fishy  fashion  he  thought  about  it;  he 
wondered  whether  the  little  eddy  looked  as  it  used 


14  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

to   look,    and   whether   caddis-worms   and   young 

mosquitoes  were  really  as  sweet  and  tender  as  he 

used  to  think  they  were.     Then  he  thought  some 

/      other  things ;  but  as  the  salmon's  mind  is  located 

I      in  the  optic  lobes  of  his  brain,  and  ours  is  in  a  dif- 

\    ferent  place,  we  cannot  be  quite  certain  what  his 

thoughts  really  were. 

What  our  salmon  did,  we  know.     He  did  what 
every  grown  salmon   in  the  ocean  does  when  he 
feels  the  glacier-water  once  more  upon  his  gills. 
He  became  a  changed  being.     He   spurned   the 
blandishment  of  soft-shelled  crabs.     The  pleasures 
of  the  table  and  of  the  chase,  heretofore  his  only 
delights,   lost  their  charms   for  him.     He   turned 
his   course   straight  toward  the  direction  whence 
the  cold  water  came,  and  for  the  rest  of  his  life 
never  tasted  a  mouthful  of  food.     He  moved  on 
toward  the  river-mouth,  at  first  playfully,  as  though 
j  he  were  not  really  certain  whether  he  meant  any- 
/  thing  after  all.     Afterward,  when  he  struck  the  full 
current  of  the  Columbia,  he  plunged   straightfor- 
ward with  an  unflinching  determination   that  had 
in  it  something  of  the  heroic.    When  he  had  passed 
the  rough  water  at  the  bar,  he  was  not  alone.     His 
old  neighbors  of  the  Cowlitz,  and  many  more  from 
I   the  Clackamas  and  the  Spokan  and  DCS  Chutes 
and  Kootanie,  —  a  great  army  of  salmon,  —  were 
with  him.     In  front  were  thousands   pressing  on, 
'   and  behind  them  were  thousands  more,  all  moved 
:  by  a  common  impulse  which  urged  them  up  the 
^Columbia. 

They  were  all  swimming  bravely  along  where  the 
current  was  deepest,  when  suddenly  the  foremost 


THE  STORY  OF  A   SALMON.  15 

felt  something  tickling  like  a  cobweb  about  their 
noses  and  under  their  chins.  They  changed  their 
course  a  little  to  brush  it  off,  and  it  touched 
their  fins  as  well.  Then  they  tried  to  slip  down 
with  the  current,  and  thus  leave  it  behind.  But, 
no !  the  thing,  whatever  it  was,  although  its  touch 
was  soft,  refused  to  let  go,  and  held  them  like  a 
fetter.  The  more  they  struggled,  the  tighter  be- 
came its  grasp,  and  the  whole  foremost  rank  of  the 
salmon  felt  it  together;  for  it  was  a  great  gill-net, 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  stretched  squarely  across 
the  mouth  of  the  river. 

By-and-by  men  came  in  boats,  and  hauled  up  the 
gill-net  and  the  helpless  salmon  that  had  become 
entangled  in  it.  They  threw  the  fishes  into  a  pile 
in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  and  the  others  saw  them 
no  more.  We  that  live  outside  the  water  know 
better  what  befalls  them,  and  we  can  tell  the  story 
which  the  salmon  could  not. 

All  along  the  banks  of  the  Columbia  River,  from 
its  mouth  to  nearly  thirty  miles  away,  there  is  a 
succession  of  large  buildings,  looking  like  great 
barns  or  warehouses,  built  on  piles  in  the  river, 
high  enough  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  floods. 
There  are  thirty  of  these  buildings,  and  they  are 
called  canneries.  Each  cannery  has  about  forty 
boats,  and  with  each  boat  are  two  men  and  a  long 
gill-net.  These  nets  fill  the  whole  river  as  with 
a  nest  of  cobwebs  from  April  to  July,  and  to 
each  cannery  nearly  a  thousand  great  salmon  are 
brought  every  day.  These  salmon  are  thrown  in  a 
pile  on  the  floor ;  and  Wing  Hop,  the  big  Chinaman, 
takes  them  one  after  another  on  the  table,  and  with 


1 6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

a  great  knife  dexterously  cuts  off  the  head,  the  tail, 
and  the  fins ;  then  with  a  sudden  thrust  he  removes 
the  intestines  and  the  eggs.  The  body  goes  into  a 
tank  of  water ;  and  the  head  is  dropped  into  a  box 
on  a  flat-boat,  and  goes  down  the  river  to  be 
made  into  salmon  oil.  Next,  the  body  is  brought 
to  another  table ;  and  Quong  Sang,  with  a  machine 
like  a  feed-cutter,  cuts  it  into  pieces  each  just  as 
long  as  a  one-pound  can.  Then  Ah  Sam,  with  a 
butcher-knife,  cuts  these  pieces  into  strips  just  as 
wide  as  the  can.  Next  Wan  Lee,  the  "China  boy," 
brings  down  a  hundred  cans  from  the  loft  where  the 
tinners  are  making  them,  and  into  each  can  puts  a 
spoonful  of  salt.  It  takes  just  six  salmon  to  fill  a 
hundred  cans.  Then  twenty  Chinamen  put  the 
pieces  of  meat  into  the  cans,  fitting  in  little  strips 
to  make  them  exactly  full.  Ten  more  solder  up 
the  cans,  and  ten  more  put  the  cans  into  boiling 
water  till  the  meat  is  thoroughly  cooked,  and  five 
more  punch  a  little  hole  in  the  head  of  each  can  to 
let  out  the  air.  Then  they  solder  them  up  again, 
and  little  girls  paste  on  them  bright-colored  labels 
showing  merry  little  cupids  riding  the  happy  salmon 
up  to  the  cannery  door,  with  Mount  Tacoma  and 
Cape  Disappointment  in  the  background ;  anS  a 
legend  underneath  says  that  this  is  "  Booth's,"  or 
"  Badollet's  Pest,"  or  "  Hume's,"  or  "  Clark's,"  or 
"  Kinney's  Superfine  Salt  Water  Salmon."  Then 
the  cans  are  placed  in  cases,  forty-eight  in  a  case, 
and  five  hundred  thousand  cases  are  put  up  every 
year.  Great  ships  come  to  Astoria,  and  are  loaded 
with  them ;  and  they  carry  them  away  to  London 
and  San  Francisco  and  Liverpool  and  New  York 


THE  STORY  OF  A   SALMON.  \J 

and  Sidney  and  Valparaiso ;   and  the  man  at  the 
corner  grocery  sells  them  at  twenty  cents  a  can. 

All  this  time  our  salmon  is  going  up  the  river, 
eluding  one  net  as  by  a  miracle,  and  soon  having 
need  of  more  miracles  to  escape  the  rest;  passing 
by  Astoria  on  a  fortunate  day,  —  which  was  Sunday, 
the  day  on  which  no  man  may  fish  if  he  expects  to 
sell  what  he  catches,  —  till  finally  he  came  to  where 
nets  were  few,  and,  at  last,  to  where  they  ceased  al- 
together. But  there  he  found  that  scarcely  any  of 
his  many  companions  were  with  him ;  for  the  nets 
cease  when  there  are  no  more  salmon  to  be  caught 
in  them.  So  he  went  on,  day  and  night,  where  the 
water  was  deepest,  stopping  not  to  feed  or  loiter  on 
the  way,  till  at  last  he  came  to  a  wild  gorge,  where 
the  great  river  became  an  angry  torrent,  rushing 
wildly  over  a  huge  staircase  of  rocks.  But  our 
hero  did  not  falter;  and  summoning  all  his  forces, 
he  plunged  into  the  Cascades.  The  current  caught 
him  and  dashed  him  against  the  rocks.  A  whole 
row  of  silvery  scales  came  off  and  glistened  in  the 
water  like  sparks  of  fire,  and  a  place  on  his  side 
became  black-and-red,  which,  for  a  salmon,  is  the 
same  as  being  black-and-blue  for  other  people. 
His  comrades^ tried  to  go  up  with  him;  and  one 
lost  his  eye,  one  his  tail,  and  one  had  his  lower 
jaw  pushed  back  into  his  head  like  the  joint  of  a 
telescope.  Again  he  tried  to  surmount  the  Cas- 
cades; and  at  last  he  succeeded,  and  an  Indian  on 
the  rocks  above  was  waiting  to  receive  him.  But 
the  Indian  with  his  spear  was  less  skilful  than  he 
was  wont  to  be,  and  our  hero  escaped,  losing  only 
a  part  of  one  of  his  fins ;  and  with  him  came  one 

2 


1 8  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

other,    and    henceforth    these   two    pursued    their 
journey  together. 

Now  a  gradual  change  took  place  in  the  looks 
of  our  salmon.  In  the  sea  he  was  plump  and 
round  and  silvery,  with  delicate  teeth  in  a  sym- 
metrical mouth.  Now  his  silvery  color  disap- 
peared, his  skin  grew  sHmy,  and  the  scales  sank 
into  it;  his  back  grew  black,  and  his  sides  turned 
red,  —  not  a  healthy  red,  but  a  sort  ofjhectic  flush. 
He  grew  poor;  and  his  back,  formerly  as  straight 
as  need  be,  now  developed  an  unpleasant  hump  at 
the  shoulders.  His  eyes  — /like  those  of  all  enthu- 
siasts who  forsake  eating  and  sleeping  for  some 
loftier  aim^ — became  dark  and  sunken.  His  sym- 
metrical jaws  grew  longer  and  longer,  and  meeting 
each  other,  as  the  nose  of  an  old  man  meets  his 
chin,  each  had  to  turn  aside  to  let  the  other  pass. 
His  beautiful  teeth  grew  longer  and  longer,  and 
projected  from  his  mouth,  giving  him  a  savage 
and  wolfish  appearance,  quite  at  variance  with  his 
real  disposition.  For  all  the  desires  and  ambitions 
of  his  nature  had  become  centred  into  one^  We 
may  not  know  what  this  one  was,  but  we  know  that 
it  was  a  strong  one ;  for  it  had  led  him  on  and  on, 
—  past  the  nets  and  horrors  of  Astoria;  past  the 
dangerous  Cascades ;  past  the  spears  of  Indians ; 
through  the  terrible  flume  of  the  Dalles,  where 
the  mighty  river  is  compressed  between  huge 
rocks  into  a  channel  narrower  than  a  village 
street;  on  past  the  meadows  of  Umatilla  and 
the  wheat-fields  of  Walla  Walla;  on  to  where  the 
great  Snake  River  and  the  Columbia  join ;  on  up 
the  Snake  River  and  its  eastern  branch,  till  at  last 


THE  STORY  OF  A   SALMON.  19 

he  reached  the  foot  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains 
in  the  Territory  of  Idaho,  nearTy~a  thousand  miles 
from  the  ocean  which  he  had  left  in  April.  With 
him  still  was  the  other  salmon  which  had  come 
with  him  through  the  Cascades,  handsomer  and 
smaller  than  he,  and,  like  him,  growing  poor  and 
ragged  and  tired. 

At  last,  one  October  afternoon,  our  finny  travel- 
lers came  together  to  a  little  clear  brook,  with  a 
bottom  of  fine  gravel,  over  which  the  water  was 
but  a  few  inches  deep.  Our  fish  painfully  worked 
his  way  to  it;  for  his  tail  was  all  frayed  out,  his 
muscles  were  sore,  and  his  skin  covered  with  un- 
sightly blotches.  But  his  sunken  eyes  saw  a  ripple 
in  the  stream,  and  under  it  a  bed  of  little  pebbles 
and  sand.  So  there  in  the  sand  he  scooped  out 
with  his  tail  a  smooth  round  place,  and  his  com- 
panion came  and  filled  it  with  orange-colored  eggs. 
Then  our  salmon  came  back  again ;  and  softly  cov- 
ering the  eggs,  the  work  of  their  lives  was  done, 
and,  in  the  old  salmon  fashion,  they  drifted  tail 
foremost  down  the  stream. 

They  drifted  on  together  for  a  night  and  a  day, 
—hut  they  never  came  to  the  sea.  For  the  salmon 
has  but  one  Jife  to  live,  and  it  ascends  the  river  but 
_once.  The  rest  lies  with  its  children.  And  when 
the  April  sunshine  fell  on  the  globules  in  the  gravel, 
these  were  wakened  into  life.  With  the  early  au- 
tumn rains,  the  little  fishes  were  large  enough  to 
begin  their  wanderings.  They  dropped  down  the 
current  in  the  old  salmon  fashion.  And  thus  they 
came  into  the  great  river  and  drifted  away  to  the 
sea. 


20  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 


JOHNNY   DARTERS.1 

ANY  one  who  has  ever  been  a  boy  and  can 
remember  back  to  the  days  of  tag-alders, 
yellow  cowslips,  and  an  angle-worm  on  a  pin-hook, 
will  recall  an  experience  like  this:  You  tried  some 
time  to  put  your  finger  on  a  little  fish  that  was 
lying,  apparently  asleep,  on  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  half  hidden  under  a  stone  or  a  leaf,  his 
tail  bent  around  the  stone  as  if  for  support  against 
the  force  of  the  current.  You  will  remember  that 
when  your  finger  came  near  the  spot  where  he  was 
lying,  the  bent  tail  was  straightened,  and  you  saw" 
the  fish  again  resting,  head  up-stream,  a  few  feet 
away,  leaving  you  puzzled  to  know  whether  you 
had  seen  the  movement  or  not.  You  were  trying 
to  catch  a  Johnny  Darter.  Nothing  seems  easier, 
but  you  did  not  do  it. 

Having  by  well-understood  stratagem  succeeded 
where  you  failed,  allow  us  to  give  you  that  ac- 
quaintance which  he  so  deftly  declined. 

In  all  clear  streams  from  Maine  to  Mexico  the 
Johnny  Darters  are  found ;  and  the  boy  who  does 
not  know  them  has  missed  one  of  the  real  pleas- 
ures of  a  boy's  life.  All  of  them  are  very  little 
fishes,  —  some  not  more  than  two  inches  long,  and 

1  The  original  version  of  this  paper  was  the  joint  work  of  the 
late  Professor  Herbert  Edson  Copeland  and  the  writer.  —  D.  S.  J. 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  21 

the  very  largest  but  six  or  eight.  But  small  though 
they  are,  they  are  the  most  interesting  in  habits, 
the  most  graceful  in  form,  and  many  of  them  the 
most  brilliant  in  color  of  all  fresh-water  fishes. 
The  books  call  them  "  Darters  ;  "  for  one  of  the  first 
species  known  was  named  Boleosoma,  and  that  in 
Greek  means  "  dart  body,"  —  a  name  most  appro- 
priate to  them  all.  The  realistic  dwellers  in  the 
Ohio  Valley  call  some  of  them  "  Hog-fish,"  and 
the  boys  call  them  "  Johnnies."  Certainly  the 
boys  ought  to  know,  —  and  Johnnies  they  are,  and 
Darters  they  are;  so  Johnny  Darters  they  shall 
be.  Their  first  introduction  to  science  was  in  1819, 
when  Rafinesque  gave  to  them  their  scientific 
name  of  Etheostoma.  This  name  seems  to  mean 
"  strainer-mouth  ;  "  but  the  "  eccentric  naturalist," 
whose  peculiar  use  of  the  Greek  language  was  not 
the  least  of  his  eccentricities,  says  that  it  means 
"  various-mouth,"  because  no  two  of  those  he 
knew1  have  the  mouth  alike.  But  whatever  it 
may  mean,  Etheostoma  is  their  name,  and  Rafi- 
nesque their  godfather;  and  we  may  call  them 
Johnnies  for  short. 

Rafinesque  said  of  the  Johnnies  that  he  knew 
"they  are  good  to  eat  fried."  I  suppose  that 
he  had  tried  them;  but  we  have  not.  We  should 
as  soon  think  of  filling  our  pan  with  wood-warblers 
as  to  make  a  meal  of  them.  The  good  man  goes 
a-fishing  not  for  "  pot-luck,"  but  to  let  escape  "the 
Indian  within  him." 

The  Johnny  Darter  deserves  our  especial  atten- 

1  These  were  Etheostoma  Jlabellare,  Fercina  caprodes,  and  Diple- 
sion  blennioidts* 


22  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

tion  in  this  Centennial  year,  for  he  is  altogether  an 
American  product.  He  has  all  that  ardent  desire 
for  perfect  freedom  that  is  supposed  to  be  native 
to  this  continent.  Unless  all  appearance  of  cap- 
tivity be  concealed  in  a  well-kept  aquarium,  he 
will  quickly  lie  on  the  bottom,  dead.  Here,  at 
the  beginning  (for  much  as  we  may  regret  the 
fact,  the  death  of  some  individual  must  precede 
our  acquaintance  with  the  group,  and  even  to  some 
extent  with  the  individual  himself),  we  observe 
two  noteworthy  facts :  the  fish  in  dying  does  not 
turn  over,  and  does  not  rise  to  the  surface.  On 
dissection,  we  find  that  the  air-bladder  is  only 
rudimentary,  being  structurally,  but  not  function- 
ally, present,  —  a  distinction  not  without  meaning 
in  these  days  of  evolutionary  hypotheses.  If  our 
tank  be  so  arranged  that  the  conditions  are  nearly 
natural,  there  being  an  abundance  of  stones  and 
weeds  on  the  bottom,  our  Johnnies  will  cheerfully 
live  with  us,  and  we  shall  be  ready  to  study  their 
individual  peculiarities,  or,  as  Boyesen's  "Scientific 
Vagabond  "  would  have  said,  their  "  psychology." 
For  it  must  be  known  that  while  all  fish  are  fish, 
they  are  so  only  as  all  men  are  men.  The  chil- 
dren of  one  family  are  not  more  unlike  one  another 
than  the  fishes  of  one  brood  might  be  if  the  sickly 
ones  and  the  lazy  ones  were  as  carefully  guarded 
as  are  ours.  As  it  is,  they  have  their  individuality. 
One  is  constantly  darting  over  and  among  the 
stones,  never  resting,  moving  his  head  from  side 
to  side  when  his  body  is  for  a  moment  still.  An- 
other will  lie  for  hours  motionless  under  a  stone, 
moving  only  for  a  fe.w  inches  when  pushed  out 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  2$ 

with  a  stick.  These  peculiarities  of  temperament 
are  important  factors  in  the  problem  of  life ;  and 
from  such  differences  under  varying  conditions, 
may  have  resulted  forms  which  we  now  designate 
as  different  species. 

But  we  must  leave  these  general  questions  for 
the  present,  and  tell  the  story  of  the  Johnny  Dart- 
ers that  live  in  our  aquarium.1 

First  of  these  in  size  and  therefore  in  dignity 
comes  the  Log  Perch  or  Hog-fish  {Percina  ca- 
prodes  Rafinesque).  This  is  the  giant  of  the 
family,  —  the  most  of  a  fish,  and  therefore  the 
least  of  a  darter.  It  may  be  readily  known  by  its 
zebra-like  colors.  Its  hue  is  pale  olive,  —  silvery 
below,  darker  above.  On  this  ground-color  are 
about  fifteen  black  vertical  bars  or  incomplete 
rings,  alternating  with  as  many  shorter  bars  which 
reach  only  half-way  down  the  side.  The  hind- 
most bar  forms  a  mere  spot  on  the  base  of  the 
tail,  and  there  are  many  dots  and  speckles  on  the 
fins.  The  body  is  long  and  slender,  spindle-shaped, 
and  firm  and  wiry  to  the  touch.  The  head  is  flat 
on  top,  and  tapers  into  a  flat-pointed  snout  which  is 
squared  off  at  the  end  like  the  snout  of  a  pig ;  and 
this  resemblance  is  heightened  by  the  form  of  the 
small  mouth  underneath  it.  From  this  pig-like 
snout  has  come  the  scientific  name  caprodes. 
This  is  a  translation  of  the  older  name  of  "  hog- 
fish,"  which  Rafinesque  heard  applied  to  it  in  his 
time,  and  which  is  still  used  in  the  same  regions. 

Percina  reaches  a  length  of  six  or  eight  inches, 

1  At  Indianapolis,  Indiana.  All  the  species  here  mentioned,  and 
some  others,  are  found  in  the  White  River,  near  Indianapolis. 


24  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

and  it  may  readily  be  caught  on  a  small  hook 
baited  with  a  worm.  We  often  meet  an  urchin 
with  two  or  three  of  them  strung  through  the  gills 
on  a  forked  stick,  along  with  "  red-eyes,"  "  stone- 
toters,"  "  horny-heads,"  and  other  "  boys'  fish." 
At  such  times  we  generally  buy  the  hog-fish  for  a 
cent,  cut  it  open  to  look  at  the  air-bladder,  which 
the  books  say  it  does  not  have,  and  then  lay  it 
away  with  the  rest  of  our  treasures  in  the  bottle 
of  alcohol.  We  find  Percina  usually  in  rapid  and 
rather  deep  water,  —  as  deep  as  we  can  wade  in 
when  seining  in  hip-boots.  We  rarely  find  them 
small  enough  for  ordinary  aquarium  purposes ;  and 
the  living  specimen  before  us,  though  wonderfully 
quick  and  graceful  in  its  movements,  has  shown 
little  that  is  noteworthy,  save  his  courage,  his  fond- 
ness for  angle-worms,  and  a  possible  disposition  to 
bury  himself  in  the  sand.  There  is  something  in 
the  expression  of  his  face,  as  he  rests  on  his  "  hands 
and  feet"  on  a  stone,  that  is  remarkably  lizard- 
like,  suggesting  the  Blue-tailed  Skink  (Eumeces 
fasciatus). 

We  next  come  to  the  fine  gentleman  of  the 
family,  the  Black-sided  Darter  (Hadropterus  aspro 
Cope  and  Jordan).  This  one  we  may  know  by  its 
colors.  The  ground  hue  is  a  salmon  yellow;  the 
back  is  regularly  and  beautifully  marbled  with  black 
in  a  peculiar  and  handsome  pattern.  On  the  sides, 
from  the  head  to  the  tail,  runs  a  jet-black  band, 
which  is  widened  at  intervals  into  rounded  spots 
which  contrast  sharply  with  the  silvery  color  of  the 
belly ;  or  we  may  say  that  on  each  side  is  a  chain 
of  confluent  round  black  blotches.  Sometimes 


BAR  TERS.  2  5 

the  fishes  seem  to  fade  out;  these  blotches  grow 
pale,  and  no  longer  meet;  but  in  an  instant  they 
may  regain  their  original  form  and  shade.  This 
latter  change  can  be  induced  by  the  offer  of  food, 
and  it  is  of  course  due  to  muscular  action  on  the 
scales  which  cover  the  darker  pigment.  A  male 
in  our  aquarium  underwent  almost  instantly  an  en- 
tire change  of  coloration  upon  the  introduction  of  a 
female  fish  of  the  same  species  recognized  by  him 
as  his  affinity.  Although  the  two  have  been  to- 
gether for  some  weeks,  the  novelty  has  not  yet 
worn  off;  and  although  his  colors  vary  much  from 
one  hour  to  another,  he  has  never  yet  quite  re- 
verted to  his  original  hues.  The  form  of  the  black- 
sided  darter  is  more  graceful  than  that  of  any 
other,  and  his  movements  have  little  of  that  angu- 
lar jerkiness  which  characterizes  his  relatives. 

The  fins  of  Hadrcpterus,  like  those  of  Percina, 
are  long  and  large,  the  number  of  dorsal  spines 
being  about  fourteen.  A  notable  peculiarity  in 
both  species  is  the  presence  of  a  row  of  shields,  or 
enlarged  scales,  along  the  middle  line  of  the  abdo- 
men. These  may  help  to  protect  that  part  from 
the  friction  of  the  stony  bottom.  They  seem  to 
be  shed  sometimes ;  but  when  or  why  this  happens 
we  do  not  know.  Hadropterus  delights  in  clear 
running  water,  and  may  be  found  in  most  streams 
south  and  west  of  New  York.  It  is  especially  de- 
sirable for  aquaria,  being  hardier  than  any  other 
fish  as  pretty,  and  prettier  than  any  other  fish  as 
hardy,  and  withal  with  "  a  way  of  his  own,"  as  an 
Irish  laborer,  Barney  Mullins,  once  said  to  us  of 
Thoreau. 


26  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

One  of  the  most  simply  beautiful  of  all  fishes  is 
the  Green-sided  Darter  (Dip lesion  blennioides  Rafi- 
nesque).  He  is  not,  like  the  Pcecilichthys>  an  ani- 
mated rainbow;  but  he  has  the  beauty  of  green 
grass,  wild  violets,  and  mossy  logs.  As  we  watch 
him  in  the  water,  with  his  bright  blended  colors 
and  gentle  ways,  once  more,  with  Old  Izaak,  "  we 
sit  on  cowslip  banks,  hear  the  birds  sing,  and  pos- 
sess ourselves  in  as  much  quietness  as  the  silent 
silver  streams  which  we  see  glide  so  quietly  by  us." 
During  the  ordinary  business  of  the  year  Diple- 
siont  like  most  sensible  fishes  and  men,  dresses 
plainly.  It  is  not  easy  to  get  time  for  contempla- 
tion when  the  streams  are  low  and  food  is  scarce. 
Besides,  a  plain  coat  may  ward  off  danger  as  well 
as  facilitate  attack.  At  all  times,  however,  he  may 
be  known  by  these  marks :  the  fins  are  all  large ; 
the  back  is  covered  with  zigzag  markings,  while- 
on  the  lower  part  of  the  sides  are  eight  or  nine 
w-shaped  olive  spots.  These  are  more  or  less  con- 
nected above,  and  sometimes  form  a  wavy  line. 
The  eyes  are  prominent ;  the  snout  is  very  short 
and  rounded ;  while  the  little  inferior  mouth  is 
puckered  up  as  if  for  saying  "  prunes  and  prisms, 
prunes  and  prisms."  But  when  the  first  bluebirds 
give  warning  by  their  shivering  and  bodiless  notes 
that  spring  is  coming,  then  Diplesion  puts  on  his 
wedding-clothes,  and  becomes  in  fact  the  green- 
sided  darter.  The  dorsal  fins  become  of  a  bright 
grass-green,  with  a  scarlet  band  at  the  base  of  each  ; 
the  broad  anal  has  a  tinge  of  the  deepest  emerald ; 
while  every  spot  and  line  upon  the  side  has  turned 
from  an  undefined  olive  to  a  deep  rich  green,  such 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  2/ 

as  is  scarcely  found  elsewhere  in  the  animal  world 
excepting  on  the  heads  of  frogs.  The  same  tint 
shines  out  on  the  branching  rays  of  the  caudal  fin, 
and  may  be  seen  struggling  through  the  white  of 
the  belly.  "  The  blotches  nearest  the  middle  of  the 
back  become  black,  and  thickly  sprinkled  every- 
where are  little  shiny  specks  of  a  clear  bronze- 
orange.  In  the  aquarium  Diplesion  is  shy  and 
retiring,  —  too  much  of  a  fine  lady  to  scramble  for 
angle-worms  or  to  snap  at  the  "  bass-feed."  She 
is  usually  hidden  among  the  plants,  or  curled  up 
under  an  arch  of  stones  or  in  a  geode. 

We  never  tired  of  watching  the  little  Johnny,  or 
Tessellated  Darter  (Boleosoma  nigrum  Rafinesque). 
Although  our  earliest  aquarium  friend,  —  and  the 
very  first  specimen  showed  us  by  a  rapid  ascent 
of  the  river-weed  how  "  a  Johnny  could  climb 
trees,"  —  he  has  still  many  resources  which  we 
have  never  learned.  Whenever  we  try  to  catch 
him  with  the  hand,  we  begin  with  all  the  uncer- 
tainty that  characterized  our  first  attempts,  even 
if  we  have  him  in  a  two-quart  pail.  We  may  know 
him  by  his  short  fins,  his  first  dorsal  having  but 
nine  spines,  and  by  the  absence  of  all  color  save  a 
soft  yellowish  brown,  which  is  freckled  with  darker 
markings.  The  dark  brown  on  the  sides  is  ar- 
ranged in  seven  or  eight  w-shaped  marks,  below 
which  are  a  few  flecks  of  the  same  color.  Cover- 
ing the  sides  of  the  back  are  the  wavy  markings 
and  dark  specks  which  have  given  the  name  of  the 
"  Tessellated  Darter;  "  but  Boleosoma  is  a  braver 
name,  and  we  even  prefer  "  Boly "  for  short.  In 
the  spring  the  males  have  the  head  jet-black ;  and 


28  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

this  dark  color  often  extends  on  the  back  part  of 
the  body,  so  that  the  fish  looks  as  if  he  had  been 
taken  by  the  tail  and  dipped  into  a  bottle  of  ink. 
But  with  the  end  of  the  nuptial  season,  this  color 
disappears,  and  the  fish  regains  his  normal  strawy 
hue. 

The  head  in  Boleosoma  resembles  that  of  Diple- 
sion  ;  but  the  habit  of  leaning  forward  over  a  stone, 
resting  on  the  front  fins,  gives  a  physiognomy  even 
more  frog-like.  His  actions  are,  however,  rather 
bird-like ;  for  he  will  strike  attitudes  like  a  tufted 
titmouse,  and  he  flies  rather  than  swims  through 
the  water.  He  will,  with  much  perseverance,  push 
his  body  between  a  plant  and  the  side  of  the  aqua- 
rium, and  balance  himself  on  the  slender  stem. 
Crouching  cat-like  before  a  snail-shell,  he  will  snap 
off  the  horns  which  the  unlucky  owner  pushes  tim- 
idly out.  But  he  is  often  less  dainty,  and  seizing 
the  animal  by  the  head,  he  dashes  the  shell  against 
the  glass  or  a  stone  until  he  pulls  the  body  out  or 
breaks  the  shell.  Boly,  alas !  is  the  "  Quaker  of 
our  aquarium  "  only  in  appearance. 

Gayest  of  all  the  darters,  and  indeed  the  gaudiest 
of  all  fresh-water  fishes,  is  the  Rainbow  Darter 
(Pctcilicktkys  cceruleus  Storer).  This  is  a  little  fish, 
never  more  than  three  inches  long,  and  usually 
about  two.  Everywhere,  throughout  the  northern 
parts  of  the  Mississippi  Valle^,  it  makes  its  home 
in  the  ripples  and  shallows  of  the  rivers  and  in  the 
shady  retreats  of  all  the  little  brooks.  The  male 
fish  is  greenish  above,  with  darker  blotches,  and 
its  sides  are  variegated  with  oblique  bands  alter- 
nately of  indigo-blue  and  deep  orange,  the  orange 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  2$ 

often  edged  with  patches  of  white.  The  cheeks 
are  deep  blue,  the  breast  deep  orange ;  while  the 
expanded  fins  are  gorgeous  in  scarlet,  indigo,  and 
crimson.  The  female,  as  is  usually  the  case  when 
the  male  of  the  species  is  resplendent,  is  plainly 
colored,  —  a  speckly  green,  with  no  trace  of  blue 
or  orange. 

When  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke  out,  there 
were  some  good  people  who  were  anxiously  look- 
ing for  some  sign  or  omen,  that  they  might  know 
on  which  side  the  "  stars  in  their  courses  "  were 
fighting.  It  so  happened  that  in  a  little  brook  in 
Indiana,  called  Clear  Creek,  some  one  caught  a 
rainbow  darter.  This  fish  was  clothed  in  a  new 
suit  of  the  red,  white,  and  blue  of  his  native  land, 
in  the  most  unmistakably  patriotic  fashion.  There 
were  some  people  who  had  never  seen  a  darter 
before,  and  who  knew  no  more  of  the  fishes  in 
their  streams  than  these  fishes  knew  of  them,  by 
whom  the  coming  of  this  little  "  soldier-fish  "  into 
their  brooks  was  hailed  as  an  omen  of  victory.  Of 
course,  these  little  fishes  had  really  "  always  been 
there."  They  were  there  when  America  was  dis- 
covered and  for  a  long  time  before,  but  the  people 
had  not  seen  them.  The  warblers  lived,  you  re- 
member, in  Spalding's  woods  at  Concord ;  but 
Spalding  did  not  know  that  they  were  there,  and 
they  had  no  knowledge  of  Spalding.  So  with  the 
darters  in  Spalding's  brooks.  Still,  when  the  day 
comes  when  history  shall  finally  recount  all  the 
influences  which  held  Indiana  to  her  place  in  the 
Union,  shall  not,  among  greater  things,  this  least 
of  little  fishes  receive  its  little  meed  of  praise? 


30  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Poecilichthys  is  a  chubby  little  fish,  as  compared 
with  the  other  darters.  In  its  movements  it  is 
awkward  and  ungraceful,  though  swift  and  savage 
as  a  pike.  One  of  the  mildest  of  its  tricks  which 
we  have  noticed,  is  this.  It  would  gently  put  its 
head  over  a  stone  and  catch  a  water-boatman  by 
one  of  its  swimming  legs,  release  it,  catch  it  again 
and  again  release  it,  until  at  last  the  boatman,  evi- 
dently much  annoyed,  swam  away  out  of  its  reach. 
It  will  follow  to  the  surface  of  the  water  a  piece  of 
meat  suspended  by  a  string.  It  is  more  alert  in 
discovering  this  than  a  hungry  sunfish  or  rock- 
bass,  and  it  can  be  led  around  like  a  pet  lamb 
by  a  thread  to  which  is  fastened  a  section  of  a 
worm. 

A  more  beautiful  fish  than  this  —  beyond  ques- 
tion the  handsomest  of  them  all  —  is  the  Blue- 
breasted  Darter  (Nothonotus  camurus  Cope).  It  is" 
a  deep  olive-green  little  fish,  sprinkled  over  with 
dots  of  carmine  like  a  brook  trout.  Its  breast  is  of  a 
deep  ultramarine  blue,  and  its  fins  gayly  variegated 
with  blue,  yellow,  and  crimson.  But  we  hardly 
learned  to  know  it  as  an  aquarium  acquaintance ; 
for  we  found  it  but  twice,  both  times  in  the  clearest 
of  water,  and  our  specimens  never  survived  con- 
finement more  than  two  or  three  hours.  We  can 
only  say  of  their  habits  that  they  died  where  other 
darters  lived,  and  that  before  they  died  all  other 
fishes  seemed  cheap  and  common  beside  them. 

The  darter  of  darters  is  the  Fan-tail  {Etheostoma 
flabellare  Rafinesque).  Hardiest,  wiriest,  wariest 
of  them  all,  it  is  the  one  which  is  most  expert  in 
catching  other  creatures,  and  the  one  which  most 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  31 

surely  evades  your  clutch.  You  can  catch  a 
weasel  asleep  when  you  can  put  your  finger  on 
one  of  these.  It  is  a  slim,  narrow,  black,  pirate- 
rigged  little  fish,  with  a  long  pointed  head,  and  a 
projecting,  prow-like  lower  jaw.  It  carries  no  flag, 
but  is  colored  like  the  rocks,  among  which  it  lives. 
It  is  dark  brown  in  hue,  with  a  dusky  spot  on  each 
scale,  so  that  the  whole  body  seems  covered  with 
lengthwise  stripes ;  and  these  are  further  relieved 
by  cross-bands  of  the  same  color.  Its  fins,  espe- 
cially the  broad  fan-shaped  caudal,  are  likewise 
much  checkered  with  spots  of  black.  The  spines 
of  the  dorsal  fin  are  very  low ;  and  each  of  these  in 
the  male  ends  in  a  little  fleshy  pad  of  a  rusty-red 
color,  the  fish's  only  attempt  at  ornamentation. 

The  fan-tail  darter  chooses  the  coldest  and  swift- 
est waters ;  and  in  these,  as  befits  his  form,  he  leads 
an  active,  predatory  life.  He  is  the  terror  of  water- 
snails  and  caddis-worms,  and  the  larvae  of  mosqui- 
toes. In  the  aquarium  this  darter  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  of  fishes;  for  though  plainly  colored 
it  is  very  handsome,  and  in  its  movements  is  the 
most  graceful  of  all  the  darters.  Its  mouth  opens 
wider  than  that  of  any  of  the  others,  and  it  is  fuller 
of  bristling  teeth.  Its  large,  yellow-rimmed  black 
eyes  are  ever  on  the  watch.  The  least  of  a  "  fish  " 
and  the  most  of  a  darter,  the  fan-tail  is  worthily 
left  as  the  type  of  the  genus  Etheostoma,  in  which 
it  was  first  placed  by  its  discoverer,  Rafinesque. 

We  often  brought  home  with  us  a  "Johnny," 
"  Speck,"  or  "  Crawl-a-bottom,"  of  a  different  type 
from  any  of  those  whose  habits  we  already  knew. 
It  had  a  very  sharp  nose  which  projected  over  its 


32  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

mouth ;  its  body  was  exceedingly  slim  and  round, 
as  transparent  as  jelly,  but  hard  and  firm  to  the 
touch.  Its  belly  and  much  of  its  back  were  quite 
bare  of  scales,  and  those  along  its  sides  were  small 
and  inconspicuous.  After  much  searching  through 
the  scattered  descriptions  which  Eastern  naturalists 
have  given  us  of  the  darters  found  in  their  bottles 
of  alcohol,  we  decided  that  our  little  friend  was  the 
Pellucid  Darter  (Ammocrypta  pellucida  Baird), 
better  called  the  "  Sand  Darter  "  for  reasons  soon 
to  be  given. 

Our  aquarium  had  been  arranged  for  the  con- 
venience of  our  other  Etheostomine  friends,  and 
the  bottom  was  thickly  covered  with  stones  among 
which  a  small  fish  might  easily  hide.  Several  days 
passed  after  the  introduction  of  the  first  Ammo- 
crypta 1  which  survived  the  change  of  water,  when 
we  noticed  that  it  had  disappeared.  Careful  search 
among  the  stones  and  around  the  geode  only  made 
it  the  more  certain  that  it  had  gone,  and  increased 
our  wonder  as  to  the  way;  for  surely  it  had  not 
been  eaten,  nor  had  it  jumped  out,  unless,  like 
Ariel,  it  could  assume  a  "shape  invisible."  Finally, 
after  going  over  every  inch  of  the  ground,  there 
was  discovered,  under  the  nose  of  Boleosoma, 
which  was  standing  as  usual  on  its  hands  and  tail, 
the  upper  edge  of  a  caudal  fin,  and  on  each  side 
of  Boly's  tail  appeared  a  little  black  eye  set  in  a 
yellow  frame.  Pleurolepis  was  buried !  Was  he 
dead?  Slowly  one  eye  was  closed  in  a  darter's 
inimitable  way,  —  for  they  can  outwink  all  animals 

1  Or,  as  we  then  called  it,  Pleurolepis  ;  this  name  being  earlier, 
but  already  preoccupied  by  a  genus  of  extinct  ganoid  fishes. 


JOHNNY  DARTERS.  33 

in  creation  except  owls,  —  and  a  touch  of  a  finger 
on  its  tail  showed  that  it  had  lost  none  of  its  activ- 
ity. It  was  quite  improbable  that  it  had  been 
buried  so  completely  by  accident.  We  therefore 
cleared  of  stones  a  small  spot,  leaving  the  hard 
white  sand  exposed,  and  awaited  developments. 
Then  for  days  we  watched  it  closely,  only  to  learn 
that  it  could  bury  itself  with  great  celerity,  for  it 
was  not  caught  in  the  act.  But  our  patience  was 
at  last  rewarded ;  for  one  morning,  as  we  came  out 
to  breakfast,  it  put  its  nose,  that  we  now  know  has 
a  tip  nearly  as  hard  as  horn,  against  the  bottom, 
stood  up  nearly  straight  on  its  head,  and  with  a 
swift  beating  of  the  tail  to  right  and  left  was  in  less 
than  five  seconds  completely  buried.  The  sand 
had  been  violently  stirred,  of  course ;  and  just  as 
it  had  nearly  settled,  probably  in  less  than  half  a 
minute,  its  nose  was  put  quietly  out,  and  settling 
back  left  the  twinkling  eyes  and  narrow  forehead 
alone  visible. 

Since  then  we  have  kept  scores  of  them  in  an 
aquarium  arranged  especially  for  their  conven- 
ience, and  have  often  seen. them  burrow  into  the 
sand.  They  will  remain  buried  so  long  as  the  water 
is  pure  and  cool.  Indeed,  we  now  rely  almost  en- 
tirely on  them  to  warn  us  when  the  water  needs 
changing.  When  this  need  is  felt,  they  come  out 
of  the  sand  and  lie  on  the  bottom  panting  vio- 
lently. We  have  been  unable  to  discover  any  im- 
mediate incentive  for  the  act.  It  seems  to  be 
entirely  unpremeditated.  A  number  of  them  in 
confinement  lie  helplessly  on  the  bottom,  motion- 
less and  slowly  breathing,  when  one  suddenly 

3 


34  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

starts  and  buries  his  head  and  neck  in  the  now 
whirling  sand,  by  a  motion  as  quick  as  thought; 
his  tail  beats  frantically  about,  and  when  again  the 
clean  sand  lies  smooth  on  the  bottom,  the  little  eyes 
are  looking  at  you  like  two  glistening  beads,  as  if 
to  witness  your  applause  at  so  clever  a  trick. 

We  have  never  seen  Ammocrypta  taste  of  food, 
nor  do  we  ever  expect  to  do  so ;  for  although  its 
mouth  bristles  with  teeth,  its  small  size  forbids  an 
attack  on  any  game  which  we  can  offer.  Its  qui- 
escent habits  and  the  character  of  the  bottoms  to 
which  it  confines  itself  seem  to  indicate  that  its 
prey  is  minute  if  not  microscopic.  But  speculation 
about  what  we  do  not  know  as  to  its  food  might 
lead  us  to  speculation  as  to  the  origin  of  its  char- 
acteristic features,  —  how,  for  instance,  the  hard 
snout,  the  transparent  muscles,  and  the  burrowing 
habits  are  consequent  on  its  loss  of  scales,  or  how 
the  loss  of  unnecessary  scales  and  of  pigment  cells 
is  consequent  on  its  burrowing  habits.  Then, 
when  we  have  finished  these  matters,  we  might 
inquire  how  it  came  about  that  there  are  "Johnny 
Darters"  at  all,  and  why  no  other  continent  has 
them.  And  we  might  go  on  with  endless  queries 
like  these,  which  would  take  us  far  beyond  the 
purpose  of  this  article.  We  have  wished  only  to 
introduce  our  aquarium  friends,  and  to  commend 
them  to  all  lovers  of  beautiful  things  in  Nature. 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  35 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY. 

OF  all  the  families  of  fishes,  the  one  most  inter- 
esting from  almost  every  point  of  view  is 
that  of  the  Salmonidce,  the  Salmon  family.  As 
now  restricted,  it  is  not  one  of  the  largest  families, 
as  it  comprises  less  than  a  hundred  species ;  but  in 
beauty,  activity,  gaminess,  quality  as  food,  and 
even  in  size  of  individuals,  different  members  of 
the  group  stand  easily  with  the  first  among  fishes. 
The  following  are  the  chief  external  characteristics 
which  are  common  to  the  members  of  the  family 
as  here  understood ;  the  Argentinians  and  the  6#- 
langidcB,  usually  included  with  them,  being  here 
placed  in  separate  groups :  — 

Body  oblong  or  moderately  elongate,  covered 
with  cycloid  scales  of  varying  size.  Head  naked. 
Mouth  terminal  or  somewhat  inferior,  varying  con- 
siderably among  the  different  species,  those  having 
the  mouth  largest  usually  having  also  the  strongest 
teeth.  Maxillary  provided  with  a  supplemental 
bone,  and  forming  the  lateral  margin  of  the  upper 
jaw.  Pseudobranchiae  present.  Gill-rakers  vary- 
ing with  the  species.  Opercula  complete.  No 
barbels.  Dorsal  fin  of  moderate  length,  placed 
near  the  middle  of  the  length  of  the  body.  Adi- 
pose fin  well  developed.  Caudal  fin  forked.  Anal 
fin  moderate  or  rather  long.  Ventral  fins  nearly 


36  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

median  in  position.  Pectoral  fins  inserted  low. 
Lateral  line  present.  Outline  of  belly  rounded. 
Vertebrae  in  large  number,  usually  about  sixty. 

The  stomach  in  all  the  Salmonida  is  siphonal, 
and  at  the  pylorus  are  many  (15  to  200)  com- 
paratively large  pyloric  cceca.  The  air-bladder 
is  large.  The  eggs  are  usually  much  larger  than 
in  fishes  generally,  and  the  ovaries  are  without 
special  duct,  the  ova  falling  into  the  cavity  of  the 
abdomen  before  exclusion.  The  large  size  of  the 
eggs,  their  lack  of  adhesiveness,  and  the  readi- 
ness with  which  they  may  be  impregnated,  render 
the  Salmonidcz  peculiarly  adapted  for  artificial 
culture. 

The  Salmonidce  are  peculiar  to  the  North  Tem- 
perate and  Arctic  regions,  and  within  this  range 
they  are  almost  equally  abundant  wherever  suitable 
waters  occur.  Some  of  the  species,  especially  the 
larger  ones,  are  marine  and  anadromous,  living  and 
growing  in  the  sea,  and  ascending  fresh  waters  to 
spawn.  Still  others  live  in  running  brooks,  en- 
tering lakes  or  the  sea  when  occasion  serves,  but 
not  habitually  doing  so.  Still  others  are  lake 
fishes,  approaching  the  shore  or  entering  brooks 
in  the  spawning  season,  at  other  times  retiring  to 
waters  of  considerable  depth.  Some  of  them  are 
active,  voracious,  and  gamy ;  while  others  are  com- 
paratively defenceless,  and  will  not  take  the  hook. 
They  are  divisible  into  eight  easily  recognized 
genera,  —  Coregonus,  Plecoglossus,  Brachymystax, 
Stenodus,  Thymallus,  Oncorhynchus,  Salmo,  and 
Salvelinus.  These  groups  may  be  discussed  in 
order. 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  37 

The  genus  Coregonus,  which  includes  the  vari- 
ous species  known  in  America  as  lake  white-fish, 
is  distinguishable  in  general  by  the  small  size  of 
its  mouth,  the  weakness  of  its  teeth,  and  the  large 
size  of  its  scales.  The  teeth,  especially,  are  either 
reduced  to  very  slight  asperities,  or  else  are  alto- 
gether wanting.  The  species  reach  a  length  of 
one  to  two  feet  or  more.  With  scarcely  an  ex- 
ception they  inhabit  clear  lakes,  and  rarely  enter 
streams  except  to  spawn.  In  far  northern  regions 
they  often  descend  to  the  sea ;  but  in  the  latitude 
of  the  United  States  this  is  rarely  possible  for 
them,  as  they  are  unable  to  endure  impurities  in 
the  water.  They  seldom  take  the  hook,  and  rarely 
feed  on  other  fishes.  From  their  restriction  to  the 
waters  of  the  different  lake  systems  in  which  they 
live,  numerous  local  varieties  have  been  developed 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  distinguished  by 
characters  less  constant  and  less  important  than 
those  which  separate  the  different  species.  Euro- 
pean writers  have  somewhat  inconsistently  re- 
garded these  varying  and  intangibly  different 
forms  as  distinct  species,  and  many  of  them  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  almost  every  lake 
system  of  Scandinavia,  Scotland,  and  Russia  has 
several  species  which  are  peculiar  to  it.  Dr.  Giin- 
ther  observes  that  "  the  species  of  this  genus  are 
not  less  numerous  than  those  of  Salmo,  some  hav- 
ing a  very  extended  geographical  range,  whilst 
others  are  confined  to  very  limited  localities. 
They  are  less  subject  to  variation  than  the  trout, 
and  therefore  more  easily  characterized  and  dis- 
tinguished. Hence  we  find  that  naturalists  who 


38  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

look  with  distrust  on  the  different  species  of  Salmo 
are  quite  ready  to  admit  those  of  Coregonus" 

It  seems  to  me,  however,  that  the  variableness 
in  Coregonus  has  been  underestimated.  The  Amer- 
ican species  at  least  are  all  fishes  of  wide  range, 
varying  considerably  with  their  surroundings. 

None  of  the  other  species  reach  the  size,  or  have 
the  value  as  food,  of  our  common  white-fish.  The 
species  of  Coregonus  differ  from  each  other  in  the 
form  and  size  of  the  mouth,  in  the  form  of  the 
body,  and  in  the  development  of  the  gill-rakers. 
These  differences  have  led  to  the  establishment  of 
about  five  sections,  or  subgenera,  the  extremes  of 
which  differ  remarkably,  but  which  gradually  pass 
from  one  into  another.  Of  the  species,  the  follow- 
ing are  among  the  most  noteworthy :  — 

Coregonus  oxyrhynchus  —  the  Schndbel  of  Hol- 
land, Germany,  and  Scandinavia  —  has  the  mouth, 
very  small,  the  sharp  snout  projecting  far  be- 
yond it.  No  species  similar  to  this  is  found  in 
America. 

The  Rocky  Mountain  White-fish  (Coregonus 
williamsoni)  has  also  a  small  mouth  and  project- 
ing snout,  but  the  latter  is  blunter  and  much 
shorter  than  in  C.  oxyrhynchus.  This  is  a  small 
species  abounding  everywhere  in  the  clear  lakes 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
from  Colorado  to  Vancouver  Island.  It  is  a  hand- 
some fish,  and  excellent  as  food. 

Closely  allied  to  Coregonus  williamsoni  is  the 
Pilot-fish,  Shad-waiter,  Round-fish,  or  Menomonee 
White-fish  (Coregonus  quadrilateralis}.  This  spe- 
cies is  found  in  the  Great  Lakes,  the  Adirondack 


THE  SALMON  FAMIL  Y.  39 

region,  the  lakes  of  New  Hampshire,  and  thence 
northwestward  to  Alaska,  abounding  in  cold  deep 
waters,  its  range  apparently  nowhere  coinciding 
with  that  of  Coregomis  williamsoni. 

The  common  White-fish  (Coregonus  clupeiformis) 
is  the  largest  in  size  of  the  species  of  Coregonus, 
and  is  unquestionably  the  finest  as  an  article  of 
food.  It  varies  considerably  in  appearance  with 
age  and  condition,  but  in  general  it  is  proportion- 
ately much  deeper  than  any  of  the  other  small- 
mouthed  Coregoni.  The  adult  fishes  develop  a 
considerable  fleshy  hump  at  the  shoulders,  which 
causes  the  head,  which  is  very  small,  to  appear 
disproportionately  so.  The  white-fish  spawns  in 
November  and  December,  on  rocky  shoals  in  the 
great  lakes.  Its  food,  which  was  for  a  long  time 
unknown,  was  ascertained  by  Dr.  P.  R.  Hoy  to 
consist  chiefly  of  deep-water  crustaceans,  with  a 
few  mollusks,  and  larvae  of  water  insects.  "  The 
white-fish,"  writes  Mr.  James  W.  Milner,  "  has 
been  known  since  the  time  of  the  earliest  explorers 
as  pre-eminently  a  fine-flavored  fish.  In  fact,  there 
are  few  table-fishes  its  equal.  To  be  appreciated 
in  its  fullest  excellence,  it  should  be  taken  fresh 
from  the  lake  and  broiled.  Father  Marquette, 
Charlevoix,  Sir  John  Richardson,  —  explorers  who 
for  months  at  a  time  had  to  depend  on  the  white- 
fish  for  their  staple  article  of  food  —  bore  testimony 
to  the  fact  that  they  never  lost  their  relish  for  it, 
and  deemed  it  a  special  excellence  that  the  appe- 
tite never  became  cloyed  with  it."  The  range  of 
the  white-fish  extends  from  the  lakes  of  New  York 
and  New  England  northward  to  the  Arctic  Circle. 


4O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES 

The  "  Otsego  bass  "  of  Otsego  Lake  in  New  York, 
celebrated  by  De  Witt  Clinton,  is  the  ordinary 
white-fish. 

Allied  to  the  American  white-fish,  but  smaller 
in  size,  is  the  Lavaret,  Weissfisch,  Adelfisch,  or 
Weissfelchen  (Coregonus  lavaretus],  of  the  moun- 
tain lakes  of  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Sweden. 
Several  other  related  species  occur  in  northern 
Europe  and  Siberia. 

Another  American  species  is  the  Sault  White- 
fish,  Lake  Whiting,  or  Musquaw  River  White-fish 
(Coregonus  labradoricus) .  Its  teeth  are  stronger, 
especially  on  the  tongue,  than  in  any  of  our  other 
species,  and  its  body  is  slenderer  than  that  of  the 
white-fish.  It  is  found  in  the  upper  Great  Lakes, 
in  the  Adirondack  region,  in  Lake  Winnepesaukee, 
and  in  the  lakes  of  Maine  and  New  Brunswick.  It 
is  said  to  rise  to  the  fly  in  the  Canadian  lakes.. 
This  species  runs  up  the  St.  Mary's  River,  from 
Lake  Huron  to  Lake  Superior,  in  July  and  August. 
Great  numbers  are  snared  or  speared  by  the  In- 
dians at  this  season  at  the  Sault  Ste.  Marie. 

The  smallest  and  handsomest  of  the  American 
white-fish  is  the  Cisco  of  Lake  Michigan  (Coregonus 
hoyi).  It  is  a  slender  fish,  rarely  exceeding  ten 
inches  in  length,  and  its  scales  have  the  brilliant 
silvery  lustre  of  the  Moon-eye  and  the  Lady-fish. 

The  Lake  Herring,  or  Cisco  (Coregonus  artedi), 
is,  next  to  the  white-fish,  the  most  important  of  the 
American  species.  It  is  more  elongate  than  the 
others,  and  has  a  comparatively  large  mouth,  with 
projecting  under  jaw.  It  is  correspondingly  more 
voracious,  and  often  takes  the  hook.  During  the 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  41 

spawning  season  of  the  white-fish  the  lake  herring 
feeds  on  the  ova  of  the  latter,  thereby  doing  a 
great  amount  of  mischief.  As  food,  this  species  is 
fair,  but  much  inferior  to  the  white-fish.  Its  geo- 
graphical distribution  is  essentially  the  same,  but 
to  a  greater  degree  it  frequents  shoal  waters.  In 
the  small  lakes  around  Lake  Michigan,  in  Indiana 
and  Wisconsin  (Tippecanoe,  Geneva,  Oconomo- 
woc,  etc.),  the  cisco  has  long  been  established; 
and  in  these  waters  its  habits  have  undergone 
some  change,  as  has  also  its  external  appearance. 
These  lake  ciscoes  remain  for  most  of  the  year  in 
the  depths  of  the  lake,  coming  to  the  surface  only 
in  search  of  certain  insects,  and  to  shallow  water 
only  in  the  spawning  season.  This  periodical  dis- 
appearance of  the  cisco  has  led  to  much  foolish 
discussion  as  to  the  probability  of  their  returning 
by  an  underground  passage  to  Lake  Michigan 
during  the  periods  of  their  absence.  One  author, 
confounding  "  cisco  "  with  "  siscowet,"  has  assumed 
that  this  underground  passage  leads  to  Lake  Su- 
perior, and  that  the  cisco  is  identical  with  the 
fat  lake  trout  which  bears  the  latter  name.  The 
name  "  lake  herring "  alludes  to  the  superficial 
resemblance  which  this  species  possesses  to  the 
marine  herring,  a  fish  of  quite  a  different  family. 

Closely  allied  to  the  lake  herring  is  the  Blue-fin 
of  Lake  Michigan  and  of  certain  lakes  in  New 
York  {Coregonus  nigripinnis) ,  a  fine  large  species 
inhabiting  deep  waters,  and  recognizable  by  the 
blue-black  color  of  its  lower  fins.  In  Alaska  and 
Siberia  are  still  other  species  of  the  cisco  type 
(Coregonus  laurettcz,  C.  merki,  C.  nelsoni) ;  and  in 


42  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Europe  very  similar  species  are  the  Scotch  Ven- 
dace  (Coregonus  vandesius)  and  the  Scandinavian 
Lok-Sild  (lake  herring),  as  well  as  others  less 
perfectly  known. 

The  Tullibee,  or  "  Mongrel  White-fish"  (Corego- 
nus tullibee),  has  a  deep  body,  like  the  shad,  with 
the  large  mouth  of  the  ciscoes.  Fishermen  think 
it  a  hybrid  between  Coregonus  clupeiformis  and  C. 
artedi.  It  is  found  in  the  Great  Lake  region  and 
northward,  and  very  little  is  known  of  its  habits. 
A  similar  species  (Coregonus  cyprinoides~)  is  re- 
corded from  Siberia,  —  a  region  which  is  pecu- 
liarly suited  for  the  growth  of  the  Coregoni,  but  in 
which  the  species  have  never  received  much  study. 

Allied  to  the  Coregoni  is  Plecoglossus  altivelis,  a 
small  fish  of  the  waters  of  Japan  and  Formosa.  It 
has  small,  compressed,  serrated,  movable  teeth  in 
the  jaws.  This  is  said  to  be  an  annual  fish,  the  life 
of  each  individual  ceasing  at  the  end  of  the  season 
of  reproduction. 

Another  little-known  form,  intermediate  between 
the  white-fish  and  the  salmon,  is  Brachymystax 
lenock,  a  large  fish  of  the  mountain  streams  of 
Siberia.  Only  the  skins  brought  home  by  Pallas 
about  a  century  ago  seem  to  be  known  as  yet.  Ac- 
cording to  Pallas,  it  sometimes  reaches  a  weight  of 
eighty  pounds. 

Still  another  genus,  intermediate  between  the 
white-fish  and  the  salmon,  is  Stenodus,  distin- 
guished by  its  elongate  body,  feeble  teeth,  and 
projecting  lower  jaw.  The  Inconnu,  or  Mackenzie 
River  Salmon  {Stcnodus  mackenzii)  belongs  to  this 
genus.  It  reaches  a  weight  of  twenty  pounds  or 


THE  SALMON'  FAMIL  Y.  43 

more,  and  in  the  far  north  is  a  food  fish  of  good 
quality.  Little  is  recorded  of  its  habits,  and  few 
specimens  exist  in  museums.  Species  of  Stenodus 
are  said  to  inhabit  the  Volga,  Obi,  Lena,  and  other 
northern  rivers ;  but  as  yet  little  is  definitely  known 
of  them. 

The  Grayling  (Thymallus),  termed  by  Saint  Am- 
brose "  the  flower  of  fishes,"  is  likewise  interme- 
diate between  the  white-fish  and  the  trout,  having 
larger  scales  and  feebler  teeth  than  the  latter. 
The  teeth  on  the  tongue,  found  in  all  the  trout  and 
salmon,  are  obsolete  in  grayling.  The  chief  dis- 
tinctive peculiarity  of  the  genus  Thymallus  is  the 
great  development  of  the  dorsal  fin,  which  has 
more  rays  (20  to  24)  than  are  found  in  any  other 
of  the  SalmonidcB,  and  the  fin  is  also  higher.  All 
the  species  are  gayly  colored,  the  dorsal  fin  es- 
pecially being  marked  with  purplish  or  greenish 
bands  and  bright  rose-colored  spots ;  while  the 
body  is  mostly  purplish-gray,  often  with  spots  of 
black.  Most  of  the  species  rarely  exceed  a  foot  in 
length,  but  northward  they  grow  larger.  Grayling 
weighing  five  pounds  have  been  taken  in  England ; 
and  according  to  Dr.  Day,  they  are  said  in  Lap- 
land to  reach  a  weight  of  eight  or  nine  pounds. 
The  grayling  in  all  countries  frequent  clear,  cold 
brooks,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  enter  the  sea,  or  even 
the  larger  lakes.  They  are  said  to  congregate  in 
small  shoals  in  the  streams,  and  to  prefer  those 
which  have  a  succession  of  pools  and  shallows, 
with  a  sandy  or  gravelly  rather  than  rocky  bottom. 
The  grayling  spawns  on  the  shallows  in  April  or 
May  (in  England).  It  is  said  to  be  non-migratory 


44  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

in  its  habits,  depositing  its  ova  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  its  usual  haunts.  The  ova  are  said  to  be 
far  more  delicate  and  easily  killed  than  those  of 
the  trout  or  charr.  The  grayling  and  the  trout 
often  inhabit  the  same  waters,  but  not  altogether 
in  harmony.  It  is  said  that  the  grayling  devour 
the  eggs  of  the  trout.  It  is  certain  that  the  trout 
feed  on  the  young  grayling.  As  a  food-fish,  the 
grayling,  of  course,  ranks  high;  but  the  true 
sportsman  will  hardly  seek  such  fish  as  these  to 
fill  his  frying-pan.  They  are  considered  gamy 
fishes,  although  less  strong  than  the  brook-trout, 
and  perhaps  less  wary.  The  five  or  six  known 
species  of  grayling  are  very  closely  related,  and  are 
doubtless  comparatively  recent  offshoots  from  a 
common  stock,  which  has  now  spread  itself  widely 
through  the  northern  regions. 

The  common  Grayling  of  Europe  (Thymallus. 
thymallus)  is  found  throughout  northern  Europe, 
and  as  far  south  as  the  mountains  of  Hungary  and 
northern  Italy.  The  name  Thymallus  was  given 
by  the  ancients,  because  the  fish,  when  fresh,  had 
the  odor  of  water  thyme,  —  an  odor  which  the 
duller  sense  of  the  moderns  now  fails  to  detect. 
Grayling  belonging  to  this  or  other  species  are 
found  in  the  waters  of  Russia  and  Siberia. 

The  American  Grayling  (Thymallus  signifer)  is 
widely  distributed  in  British  America  and  Alaska. 
In  several  streams  in  northern  Michigan  and  in 
Montana  occurs  a  dwarfish  variety  of  this  species, 
known  to  anglers  as  the  Michigan  Grayling  (Thy- 
mallus signifer  ontariensis).1  This  form  has  a 

1  Thymallus  tricolor  Cope  =  Thymallus  montamis  Milner. 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY. 


45 


longer  head,  rather  smaller  scales,  and  the  dorsal 
fin  rather  lower  than  in  the  northern  form  (sig~ 
nifer)  ;  but  the  constancy  of  these  characters  in 
specimens  from  intermediate  localities  is  yet  to  be 
proved.  It  is  probable  that  the  grayling  once  had 
a  wider  range  to  the  southward  than  now,  and  that 
so  far  as  the  waters  of  the  United  States  are  con- 
cerned, it  is  tending  towards  extinction.  This 
tendency  is,  of  course,  being  accelerated  in  Michi- 
gan by  lumbermen  and  anglers.  The  colonies  of 
grayling  in  Michigan  and  Montana  are  probably 
remains  of  a  post-glacial  fauna. 

The  genus  Oncorhynchus  contains  those  species 
of  Salmonidce  which  have  the  greatest  size  and 
value.  They  are  in  fact,  as  well  as  in  name,  the 
king  salmon.  The  genus  is  closely  related  to 
Salmo,  with  which  it  agrees  in  general  as  to  the 
structure  of  its  vomer,  and  from  which  it  differs  in 
the  increased  number  of  anal  rays,  branchiostegals, 
pyloric  cceca,  and  gill-rakers.  The  character  most 
convenient  for  distinguishing  Oncorhynchus^  young 
or  old,  from  all  the  species  of  Salmo,  is  the  num- 
ber of  developed  rays  in  the  anal  fin.  These  in 
Oncorhynchus  are  thirteen  to  twenty,  in  Salmo  nine 
or  ten. 

The  species  of  Oncorhynchus  have  long  been 
known  as  anadromous  salmon,  confined  to  the 
North  Pacific.  The  species  were  first  made  known 
one  hundred  and  thirty  years  ago,  by  that  most 
exact  of  early  observers,  Steller,who  described  and 
distinguished  them  with  perfect  accuracy,  under 
their  Russian  vernacular  names.  These  Russian 
names  were,  in  1792,  adopted  by  Walbaum  as 


46  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

specific  names,  in  giving  to  these  animals  a  scientific 
nomenclature.  Since  Steller's  time,  writers  of  all 
degrees  of  incompetence,  and  writers  with  scanty 
material  or  with  no  material  at  all,  have  done  their 
worst  to  confuse  our  knowledge  of  these  salmon, 
until  it  became  evident  that  no  exact  knowledge  of 
any  of  the  species  remained.  In  the  current  sys- 
tem of  a  few  years  ago,  the  breeding  males  of  the 
five  species  known  to  Steller  constituted  a  separate 
genus  of  many  species  (OncorJiynchus  Suckley) ;  the 
females  were  placed  in  the  genus  Salmo,  and  the 
young  formed  still  other  species  of  a  third  genus, 
called  Fario,  supposed  to  be  a  genus  of  trout. 
The  young  breeding  males  (grilse)  of  one  of  the 
species  (Oncorhyiichus  nerkci]  made  still  a  fourth 
genus  designated  as  Hypsifario.  Not  one  of  the 
writers  on  these  fishes  of  twenty-five  years  ago 
knew  a  single  species  definitely,  at  sight,  or  used 
knowingly  in  their  descriptions  a  single  character 
by  which  species  are  really  distinguished.  Not  less 
than  thirty-five  nominal  species  of  OncorliyncJius 
have  already  been  described  from  the  North  Pa- 
cific, although,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  only  the 
five  originally  noticed  by  Steller  really  exist, 
The  descriptive  literature  of  the  Pacific  salmon 
is  among  the  very  worst  extant  in  science.  This 
is  not,  however,  altogether  the  fault  of  the  authors, 
but  it  is  in  great  part  due  to  the  extraordinary 
variability  in  appearance  of  the  different  species  of 
salmon.  These  variations  are,  as  will  be  seen,  due 
to  several  different  causes,  notably  to  differences 
in  surroundings,  in  sex,  and  in  age,  and  in  con- 
ditions connected  with  the  process  of  reproduction.. 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  47 

The  writer  and  his  associate,  Professor  Charles  H. 
Gilbert,  have  had,  under  the  auspices  of  the  United 
States  Fish  Commission,  better  opportunities  to 
study  the  different  species  of  Oncorhynchus  than 
have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  other  ichthyologists. 
The  following  discussion  of  the  different  species 
is  condensed  from  our  report  to  the  United  States 
Census  Bureau,  portions  of  which  were  published 
in  the  "  American  Naturalist"  for  March,  1881.  En- 
tirely similar  conclusions  have  been  independently 
reached  by  Dr.  Tarleton  H.  Bean,  who  visited  Alaska 
in  1880,  and  whose  means  of  studying  the  species 
have  been  scarcely  less  extensive. 

There  are  five  species  of  salmon  (Oncorhynchus) 
in  the  waters  of  the  North  Pacific.  We  have  at 
present  no  evidence  of  the  existence  of  any  more 
on  either  the  American  or  the  Asiatic  side.  These 
species  maybe  called:  (i)  the  Ouinnat,  or  King 
Salmon,  (2)  the  Blue-back  Salmon,  or  Red-fish, 
(3)  the  Silver  Salmon,  (4)  the  Dog  Salmon,  and 
(5)  the  Humpback  Salmon;  or  (i)  Oncorhynchus 
tschawytscha,  (2)  Oncorhynchus  nerka,  (3)  Oncorhyn- 
chus kisutch,  (4)  Oncorhynchus  keta,  and  (5)  Onco- 
rhynchus gorbuscha.  All  these  species  are  now 
known  to  occur  in  the  waters  of  Kamtschatka  as 
well  as  in  those  of  Alaska  and  Oregon.  These 
species,  in  all  their  varied  conditions,  may  usually 
be  distinguished  by  the  characters  given  below. 
Other  differences  of  form,  color,  and  appearance 
are  absolutely  valueless  for  distinction,  unless 
specimens  of  the  same  age,  sex,  and  condition 
are  compared. 

The  Quinnat  Salmon  (Oncorhynchus  tschawytscha) 


48  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

has  an  average  weight  of  22  pounds,  but  individ- 
uals weighing  70  to  100  pounds  are  occasionally 
taken.  It  has  about  16  anal  rays,  15  to  19  branchi- 
ostegals,  23  (9+14)  gill-rakers  on  the  anterior 
gill  arch,  and  140  to  185  pyloric  cceca.  The  scales 
are  comparatively  large,  there  being  from  130  to 
155  in  a  longitudinal  series.  In  the  spring  the 
body  is  silvery,  the  back,  dorsal  fin,  and  caudal  fin 
having  more  or  less  of  round  black  spots,  and  the 
sides  of  the  head  having  a  peculiar  tin-colored 
metallic  lustre.  In  the  fall  the  color  is  often  black 
or  dirty-red,  and  the  species  can  then  only  be 
distinguished  from  the  dog-salmon  by  its  technical 
characters. 

The  Blue-back  Salmon  (Oncorhynchus  nerka) 
usually  weighs  from  5  to  8  pounds.  It  has  about 
14  developed  anal  rays,  14  branchiostegals,  and 
75  to  95  pyloric  cceca.  The  gill-rakers  are  more 
numerous  than  in  any  other  salmon,  the  number 
being  usually  about  39  (16  +  23).  The  scales  are 
larger,  there  being  130  to  140  in  the  lateral  line. 
In  the  spring  the  form  is  plumply  rounded,  and 
the  color  is  a  clear  bright  blue  above,  silvery  be- 
low, and  everywhere  immaculate.  Young  fishes 
often  show  a  few  round  black  spots,  which  disappear 
when  they  enter  the  sea.  Fall  specimens  in  the 
lakes  are  bright  red  in  color,  hook-nosed  and  slab- 
sided,  and  bear  little  resemblance  to  the  spring 
run.  Young  spawning  male  grilse  are  also  pecu- 
liar in  appearance,  and  were  for  a  time  considered 
as  forming  a  distinct  genus,  under  the  name  of 
" Hypsifario  Kennerlyi"  This  species  appears  to 
be  sometimes  landlocked  in  mountain  lakes,  in 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  49 

which  case  it  reaches  but  a  small  size.  Such 
specimens,  called  "  Kokos "  by  the  Indians,  have 
been  sent  us  from  Lake  Whatcom,  Washington 
Territory,  by  Mr.  T.  J.  Smith  of  Whatcom. 

The  Silver  Salmon  (Oncorhynchus kisutcK)  reaches 
a  weight  of  3  to  8  pounds.  It  has  13  developed 
rays  in  the  anal,  13  branchiostegals,  23  (10+13) 
gill-rakers,  and  45  to  80  pyloric  coeca.  There  are 
about  127  scales  in  the  lateral  line.  In  color,  it  is 
silvery  in  spring,  greenish  above,  and  with  a  few 
faint  black  spots  on  the  tipper  parts  only.  In  the 
fall  the  males  are  mostly  of  a  dirty  red. 

The  Dog  Salmon  {Oncorhynchus  ketd)  reaches  an 
average  weight  of  about  12  pounds.  It  has  about 
14  anal  rays,  14  branchiostegals,  24  (9  +  15  )  gill- 
rakers,  and  140  to  185  pyloric  coeca.  There  are 
about  150  scales  in  the  lateral  line.  In  spring  it 
is  dirty  silvery,  immaculate,  or  sprinkled  with  small 
black  specks,  the  fins  dusky.  In  the  fall  the  male 
is  brick-red  or  blackish,  and  its  jaws  are  greatly 
distorted. 

The  Humpback  Salmon  {Oncorhynchus  gorbus- 
chd)  is  the  smallest  of  the  species,  weighing 
from  3  to  6  pounds.  It  has  usually  15  anal  rays, 
12  branchiostegals,  28  (13+15)  gill-rakers,  and 
about  1 80  pyloric  coeca.  Its  scales  are  much 
smaller  than  in  any  other  salmon,  there  being  180 
to  240  in  the  lateral  line.  In  color  it  is  bluish 
above,  silvery  below,  the  posterior  and  upper  parts 
with  many  round  black  spots.  The  males  in  fall 
are  red,  and  are  more  extravagantly  distorted  than 
in  any  other  of  the  Salmonidce. 

Of  these  species  the  blue-back  predominates  in 
4 


50  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Frazer  River,  the  silver  salmon  in  Puget  Sound, 
the  quinnat  in  the  Columbia  and  the  Sacramento, 
and  the  silver  salmon  in  most  of  the  streams  along 
the  coast.  All  the  species  have  been  seen  by  us 
in  the  Columbia  and  in  Frazer  River ;  all  but  the 
blue-back  in  the  Sacramento  and  in  waters  tribu- 
tary to  Puget  Sound.  Only  the  quinnat  has  been 
noticed  south  of  San  Francisco.  Its  range  has 
been  traced  as  far  as  Ventura  River.  Of  these 
species,  the  quinnat  and  blue-back  salmon  habitu- 
ally "run"  in  the  spring;  the  others  in  the  fall. 
The  usual  order  of  running  in  the  rivers  is  as  fol- 
lows :  nerka,  tschawytscha,  kisutch,  gorbuscha,  keta. 

The  economic  value  of  the  spring-running  sal- 
mon is  far  greater  than  that  of  the  other  species, 
because  they  can  be  captured  in  numbers  when  at 
their  best,  while  the  others  are  usually  taken  only 
after  deterioration.  To  this  fact  the  worthlessness 
of  Oncorhynchus  keta  as  compared  with  the  other 
species  is  probably  wholly  due. 

The  habits  of  the  salmon  in  the  ocean  are  not 
easily  studied.  Quinnat  and  silver  salmon  of  all 
sizes  are  taken  with  the  seine  at  almost  any  season 
in  Puget  Sound.  This  would  indicate  that  these 
species  do  not  go  far  from  the  shore.  The  quinnat 
takes  the  hook  freely  in  Monterey  Bay,  both  near 
the  shore  and  at  a  distance  of  six  to  eight  miles  out. 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  these  two  species 
do  not  necessarily  seek  great  depths,  but  proba- 
bly remain  not  very  far  from  the  mouth  of  the 
rivers  in  which  they  were  spawned.  The  blue-back 
and  the  dog  salmon  probably  seek  deeper  water, 
as  the  former  is  seldom  or  never  taken  with  the 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  51 

seine  in  the  ocean,  and  the  latter  is  known  to  enter 
the  Strait  of  Fuca  at  the  spawning  season,  therefore 
coming  in  from  the  open  sea.  The  great  majority 
of  the  quinnat  salmon,  and  nearly  all  the  blue-back 
salmon  enter  the  rivers  in  the  spring.  The  run  of 
both  begins  generally  at  the  last  of  March ;  it  lasts, 
with  various  modifications  and  interruptions,  until 
the  actual  spawning  season  in  November;  the  time 
of  running  and  the  proportionate  amount  in  each 
of  the  subordinate  runs  varying  with  each  different 
river.  In  general,  the  runs  are  slack  in  the  sum- 
mer and  increase  with  the  first  high  water  of 
autumn.  By  the  last  of  August  only  straggling 
blue-backs  can  be  found  in  the  lower  course  of 
any  stream ;  but  both  in  the  Columbia  and  in  the 
Sacramento  the  quinnat  runs  in  considerable  num- 
bers at  least  till  October.  In  the  Sacramento  the 
run  is  greatest  in  the  fall,  and  more  run  in  the 
summer  than  in  spring.  In  the  Sacramento  and 
the  smaller  rivers  southward,  there  is  a  winter 
run,  beginning  in  December.  The  spring  salmon 
ascends  only  those  rivers  which  are  fed  by  the 
melting  snows  from  the  mountains,  and  which  have 
sufficient  volume  to  send  their  waters  well  out  to 
sea.  Those  salmon  which  run  in  the  spring  are 
chiefly  adults  (supposed  to  be  at  least  three  years 
old).  Their  milt  and  spawn  are  no  more  devel- 
oped than  at  the  same  time  in  others  of  the  same 
species  which  are  not  to  enter  the  rivers  until  fall. 
It  would  appear  that  the  contact  with  cold  fresh 
water,  when  in  the  ocean,  in  some  way  causes 
them  to  run  towards  it,  and  to  run  before  there 
is  any  special  influence  to  that  end  exerted  by  the 


52  SCIENCE  SKETCPIES. 

development  of  the  organs  of  generation.  High 
water  on  any  of  these  rivers  in  the  spring  is  always 
followed  by  an  increased  run  of  salmon.  The 
salmon-canners  think —  and  this  is  probably  true  — 
that  salmon  which  would  not  have  run  till  later 
are  brought  up  by  the  contact  with  the  cold  water. 
The  cause  of  this  effect  of  cold  fresh  water  is  not 
understood.  We  may  call  it  an  instinct  of  the 
salmon,  which  is  another  way  of  expressing  our 
ignorance.  In  general,  it  seems  to  be  true  that  in 
those  rivers  and  during  those  years  when  the 
spring  run  is  greatest,  the  fall  run  is  least  to  be 
depended  on. 

As  the  season  advances,  smaller  and  younger 
salmon  of  these  species  (quinnat  and  blue-back) 
enter  the  rivers  to  spawn,  and  in  the  fall  these 
young  specimens  are  very  numerous.  We  have 
thus  far  failed  to  notice  any  gradations  in  size  or 
appearance  of  these  young  fish  by  which  their 
ages  could  be  ascertained.  It  is,  however,  prob- 
able that  some  of  both  sexes  reproduce  at  the  age 
of  one  year.  In  Frazer  River,  in  the  fall,  quinnat 
male  grilse  of  every  size,  from  eight  inches  up- 
wards, were  running,  the  milt  fully  developed,  but 
usually  not  showing  the  hooked  jaws  and  dark 
colors  of  the  older  males.  Females  less  than  eigh- 
teen inches  in  length  were  rare.  All  of  either 
sex,  large  and  small,  then  in  the  river,  had  the 
ovaries  or  milt  developed.  Little  blue-backs  of 
every  size,  down  to  six  inches,  are  also  found  in 
the  upper  Columbia  in  the  fall,  with  their  organs 
of  generation  fully  developed.  Nineteen  twentieths 
of  these  young  fish  are  males,  and  some  of  them 


THE  'SALMON  FAMIL  Y.  53 

have  the  hooked  jaws  and  red  color  of  the  old 
males. 

The  average  weight  of  the  quinnat  in  the  Colum- 
bia, in  the  spring,  is  twenty-two  pounds ;  in  the 
Sacramento,  about  sixteen.  Individuals  weighing 
from  forty  to  sixty  pounds  are  frequently  found  in 
both  rivers,  and  some  as  high  as  eighty  or  even 
one  hundred  pounds  are  recorded.  It  is  questioned 
whether  these  large  fishes  are  those  which,  of  the 
same  age,  have  grown  more  rapidly ;  those  which 
are  older,  but  have  for  some  reason  failed  to 
spawn ;  or  those  which  have  survived  one  or  more 
spawning  seasons.  All  these  origins  may  be  pos- 
sible in  individual  cases ;  we  are,  however,  of  the 
opinion  that  the  majority  of  these  large  fishes  are 
/  those  which  have  hitherto  run  in  the  fall,  and  thus 
I  having  spawned  not  far  from  the  sea,  have  survived 
1  the  spawning  season  of  the  previous  year. 

Those  fish  which  enter  the  rivers  in  the  spring 
continue  their  ascent  till  death  or  the  spawning 
season  overtakes  them.  Probably  none  of  them 
ever  return  to  the  ocean,  and  a  large  proportion 
fail  to  spawn.  They  are  known  to  ascend  the  Sac- 
ramento to  its  extreme  head-waters,  about  four 
hundred  miles.  In  the  Columbia  they  ascend  as 
far  as  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  and  at  least 
to  the  Spokane  Falls,  and  their  extreme  limit  is 
not  known.  This  is  a  distance^of  six  to  eight 
hundred  miles.  At  these  great  distances,  when 
the  fish  have  reached  the  spawning  grounds,  be- 
sides the  usual  changes  of  the  breeding  season, 
their  bodies  are  covered  with  bruises,  on  which 
patches  of  white  fungus  develop.  The  fins  become 


54  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

mutilated,  their  eyes  are  often  injured  or  destroyed, 
parasitic  worms  gather  in  their  gills,  they  become 
extremely  emaciated,  their  flesh  becomes  white 
from  the  loss  of  oil ;  and  as  soon  as  the  spawning 
act  is  accomplished,  and  sometimes  before,  all  of 
them  die.  The  ascent  of  the  Cascades  and  the 
Dalles  probably  causes  the  injury  or  death  of  a 
great  many  salmon. 

When  the  salmon  enter  the  river  they  refuse  to 
take  bait,  and  their  stomachs  are  always  found 
empty  and  contracted.  In  the  rivers  they  do  not 
feed  ;  and  when  they  reach  the  spawning  grounds, 
their  stomachs,  pyloric  cceca  and  all,  are  said  to  be 
no  larger  than  one's  finger.  They  will  sometimes 
take  the  fly,  or  a  hook  baited  with  salmon  roe,  in 
the  clear  waters  of  the  upper  tributaries,  but  there 
is  no  other  evidence  known  to  us  that  they  feed 
when  there.  Only  the  quinnat  and  blue-back 
(there  called  red-fish)  have  been  found  at  any  great 
distance  from  the  sea,  and  these  (as  adult  fishes) 
only  in  late  summer  and  fall. 

The  spawning  season  is  probably  about  the  same 
for  all  the  species.  It  varies  for  each  of  the  differ- 
ent rivers,  and  for  different  parts  of  the  same  river. 
It  doubtless  extends  from  July  to  December.  The 
manner  of  spawning  is  probably  similar  for  all 
the  species,  but  we  have  no  data  for  any  except  the 
quinnat.  In  this  species  the  fishes  pair  off;  the 
male,  with  tail  and  snout,  excavates  a  broad,  shal- 
low "  nest"  in  the  gravelly  bed  of  the  stream,  in 
rapid  water,  at  a  depth  of  one  to  four  feet;  the 
female  deposits  her  eggs  in  it,  and  after  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  milt,  they  cover  them  with  stones  and 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  55 

gravel.  They  then  float  down  the  stream  tail  fore- 
most. As  already  stated,  a  great  majority  of  them 
die.  In  the  head-waters  of  the  large  streams,  un- 
questionably, all  die;  in  the  small  streams,  and 
near  the  sea,  an  unknown  percentage  probably  sur- 
vive. The  young  hatch  in  about  sixty  days,  and 
most  of  them  return  to  the  ocean  during  the  high 
water  of  the  spring. 

The  salmon  of  all  kinds  in  the  spring  are  silvery, 
spotted  or  not  according  to  the  species,  and  with 
the  mouth  about  equally  symmetrical  in  both 
sexes.  As  the  spawning  season  approaches,  the 
female  loses  her  silvery  color,  becomes  more  slimy, 
the  scales  on  the  back  partly  sink  into  the  skin, 
and  the  flesh  changes  from  salmon  red  and  be- 
comes variously  paler,  from  the  loss  of  oil;  the 
degree  of  paleness  varying  much  with  individuals 
and  with  inhabitants  of  different  rivers.  In  the 
Sacramento  the  flesh  of  the  quinnat,  in  either  spring 
or  fall,  is  rarely  pale.  In  the  Columbia  a  few  with 
pale  flesh  are  sometimes  taken  in  spring,  and  a 
good  many  in  the  fall.  In  Frazer  River  the  fall 
run  of  the  quinnat  is  nearly  worthless  for  canning 
purposes,  because  so  many  are  "  white-meated." 
In  the  spring  very  few  are  "white-meated ;  "  but  the 
number  increases  towards  fall,  when  there  is  every 
variation,  some  having  red  streaks  running  through 
them,  others  being  red  toward  the  head  and  pale 
toward  the  tail.  The  red  and  pale  ones  cannot  be 
distinguished  externally,  and  the  color  is  dependent 
on  neither  age  nor  sex.  There  is  said  to  be  no  differ- 
ence in  the  taste,  but  there  is  no  market  for  canned 
salmon  not  of  the  conventional  orange-color. 


56  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

As  the  season  advances,  the  difference  between 
the  males  and  females  becomes  more  and  more 
marked,  and  keeps  pace  with  the  development  of 
the  milt,  as  is  shown  by  dissection.  The  males 
have  (i)  the  premaxillaries  and  the  tip  of  the  lower 
jaw  more  and  more  prolonged,  both  of  the  jaws 
becoming  finally  strongly  and  often  extravagantly 
hooked,  so  that  either  they  shut  by  the  side  of 
each  other  like  shears,  or  else  the  mouth  cannot  be 
closed.  (2)  The  front  teeth  become  very  long  and 
canine-like,  their  growth  proceeding  very  rapidly, 
until  they  are  often  half  an  inch  long.  (3)  The 
teeth  on  the  vomer  and  tongue  often  disappear. 
(4)  The  body  grows  more  compressed  and  deeper 
at  the  shoulders,  so  that  a  very  distinct  hump  is 
formed ;  this  is  more  developed  in  Oncorhynchus 
gorbuscha,  but  is  found  in  all.  (5)  The  scales  dis- 
appear, especially  on  the  back,  by  the  growth  of- 
spongy  skin.  (6)  The  color  changes  from  silvery 
to  various  shades  of  black  and  red,  or  blotchy,  ac- 
cording to  the  species.  The  blue-back  turns  rosy 
red,  the  dog  salmon  a  dull  blotchy  red,  and  the 
quinnat  generally  blackish.  The  distorted  males 
are  commonly  considered  worthless,  rejected  by 
the  canners  and  salmon-salters,  but  preserved  by  the 
Indians.  These  changes  are  due  solely  to  influences 
connected  with  the  growth  of  the  reproductive  or- 
gans. They  are  not  in  any  way  due  to  the  action 
of  fresh  water.  They  take  place  at  about  the  same 
time  in  the  adult  males  of  all  species,  whether  in  the 
ocean  or  in  the  rivers.  At  the  time  of  the  spring 
runs  all  are  symmetrical.  In  the  fall  all  males, 
of  whatever  species,  are  more  or  less  distorted. 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  57 

Among  the  dog  salmon,  which  run  only  in  the  fall, 
the  males  are  hook-jawed  and  red-blotched  when 
they  first  enter  the  Strait  of  Fuca  from  the  outside. 
The  humpback,  taken  in  salt  water  about  Seattle, 
have  the  same  peculiarities.  The  male  is  slab- 
sided,  hook-billed,  and  distorted,  and  is  rejected 
by  the  canners.  No  hook-jawed  females  of  any 
species  have  been  seen.  It  is  not  positively  known 
that  any  fully  hook-jawed  male  survives  the  repro- 
ductive act.  If  any  do,  the  jaws  must  resume  the 
normal  form. 

On  first  entering  a  stream  the  salmon  swim 
about  as  if  playing.  They  always  head  towards  the 
current,  and  this  appearance  of  playing  may  be 
simply  due  to  facing  the  moving  tide.  Afterwards 
they  enter  the  deepest  parts  of  the  stream  and 
swim  straight  up,  with  few  interruptions.  Their 
rate  of  travel  at  Sacramento  is  estimated  by  Stone 
at  about  two  miles  per  day;  on  the  Columbia  at 
about  three  miles  per  day.  Those  who  enter  the 
Columbia  in  the  spring  and  ascend  to  the  moun- 
tain rivers  of  Idaho,  must  go  at  a  more  rapid  rate 
than  this,  as  they  must  make  an  average  of  nearly 
four  miles  per  day. 

As  already  stated,  the  economic  value  of  any 
species  depends  in  great  part  on  its  being  a 
"spring  salmon."  It  is  not  generally  possible  to 
capture  salmon  of  any  species  in  large  numbers 
until  they  have  entered  the  rivers,  and  the  spring 
salmon  enter  the  rivers  long  before  the  growth  of 
the  organs  of  reproduction  has  reduced  the  rich- 
ness of  the  flesh.  The  fall  salmon  cannot  be  taken 
in  quantity  until  their  flesh  has  deteriorated ;  hence 


58  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

the  dog  salmon  is  practically  almost  worthless,  ex- 
cept to  the  Indians,  and  the  humpback  salmon 
is  little  better.  The  silver  salmon,  with  the  same 
breeding  habits  as  the  dog  salmon,  is  more  valu- 
able, as  it  is  found  in  the  inland  waters  of  Puget 
Sound  for  a  considerable  time  before  the  fall  rains 
cause  the  fall  runs,  and  it  may  be  taken  in  large 
numbers  with  seines  before  the  season  for  entering 
the  rivers.  The  quinnat  salmon,  from  its  great  size 
and  abundance,  is  more  valuable  than  all  the  other 
fishes  on  our  Pacific  coast  taken  together.  The  blue- 
back,  similar  in  flesh,  but  much  smaller  and  less 
abundant,  is  worth  much  more  than  the  combined 
value  of  the  three  remaining  species  of  salmon. 

The  fall  salmon  of  all  species,  but  especially  of 
the  dog  salmon,  ascend  streams  but  a  short  dis- 
tance before  spawning.  They  seem  to  be  in  great 
anxiety  to  find  fresh  water,  and  many  of  them 
work  their  way  up  little  brooks  only  a  few  inches 
deep,  where  they  perish  miserably,  floundering 
about  on  the  stones.  Every  stream,  of  whatever 
kind,  has  more  or  less  of  these  fall  salmon. 

It  is  the  prevailing  impression  that  the  salmon 
have  some  special  instinct  which  leads  them  to 
return  to  spawn  in  the  same  spawning  grounds 
where  they  were  originally  hatched.  We  fail  to 
find  any  evidence  of  this  in  the  case  of  the  Pacific 
coast  salmon,  and  we  do  not  believe  it  to  be  true. 
It  seems  more  probable  that  the  young  salmon 
hatched  in  any  river  mostly  remain  in  the  ocean 
within  a  radius  of  twenty,  thirty,  or  forty  miles  of 
its  mouth.  These,  in  their  movements  about  in 
the  ocean,  may  come  into  contact  with  the  cold 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  59 

waters  of  their  parent  rivers,  or  perhaps  of  any 
other  river,  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the 
shore.  In  the  case  of  the  quinnat  and  the  blue- 
back,  their  "  instinct "  seems  to  lead  them  to  ascend 
these  fresh  waters,  and  in  a  majority  of  cases  these 
waters  will  be  those  in  which  the  fishes  in  question 
were  originally  spawned.  Later  in  the  season  the 
growth  of  the  reproductive  organs  leads  them  to 
approach  the  shore  and  search  for  fresh  waters, 
and  still  the  chances  are  that  they  may  find  the 
original  stream.  But  undoubtedly  many  fall  salmon 
ascend,  or  try  to  ascend,  streams  in  which  no  salmon 
was  ever  hatched.  In  little  brooks  about  Puget 
Sound,  where  the  water  is  not  three  inches  deep, 
are  often  found  dead  or  dying  salmon,  which  have 
entered  them  for  the  purpose  of  spawning.  It  is 
said  of  the  Russian  River  and  other  California 
rivers,  that  their  mouths,  in  the  time  of  low  water 
in  summer,  generally  become  entirely  closed  by 
sand-bars,  and  that  the  salmon,  in  their  eagerness 
to  ascend  them,  frequently  fling  themselves  en- 
tirely out  of  water  on  the  beach.  But  this  does 
not  prove  that  the  salmon  are  guided  by  a  mar- 

/vellous  geographical  instinct  which  leads  them 
to  their  parent  river  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
river  cannot  be  found.  The  waters  of  Russian 
River  soak  through  these  sand-bars,  and  the  salmon 
instinct,  we  think,  leads  them  merely  to  search 
"  for  fresh  waters.  This  matter  is  much  in  need  of 
further  investigation ;  at  present,  however,  we  find 
no  reason  to  believe  that  the  salmon  enter  the 
Rogue  River  simply  because  they  were  spawned 
there,  or  that  a  salmon  hatched  in  the  Clackamas 


60  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

River  is  more  likely,  on  that  account,  to  return  to 
the  Clackamas  than  to  go  up  the  Cowlitz  or  the 
Des  Chutes.  "  At  the  JiatcJiexy^on  Rogue  River, 
the  fish  are  stripped,  marked,  and  set  free,  and 
every  year  since  the  hatchery  has  been  in  opera- 
tion some  of  the  marked  fish  have J>een_re-caught. 
The  young  fry  are  also  marked,  but  none  of  them 
have  been  re-caught."  The  shad  is  another  spe- 
cies of  fish  supposed  to  possess  this  remarkable 
homing  instinct.  Shad  have  been  planted  in  the 
Sacramento  River,  and  considerable  numbers  de- 
scended from  this  plant  have  been  already  taken 
in  the  Columbia  River  and  in  Monterey  Bay,  but 
not  a  single  one,  so  far  as  known  to  me,  in  the  origi- 
nal stream,  the  Sacramento. 

In  regard  to  the  diminution  of  the  number  of 
salmon  on  the  coast  we  may  make  these  observa- 
tions. In  Puget  Sound,  Frazer  River,  and  the 
small  streams,  there  appears  to  be  little  or  no  evi- 
dence of  diminution.  In  the  Columbia  River  the 
evidence  appears  somewhat  corifHcjiiig.  The  catch 
in  1880  was  considerably  greater  than  ever  before 
(nearly  540,000  cases  of  48  pounds  each  having 
been  packed),  although  the  fishing  for  three  or 
four  years  has  been  very  extensive.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  high  water  of  that  year  undoubtedly 
caused  many  fish  to  become  spring"  salmon  which 
would  otherwise  have  run  in  the  fall.  Moreover, 
it  is  urged  that  a  few  years  ago,  when  the  number 
caught  was  about  half  as  great  as  in  1880,  the 
amount  of  netting  used  was  perhaps  one  eighth  as 
much.  With  a  comparatively  small  outfit  the  can- 
ners  caught  half  the  fish;  now,  with  nets  much 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  6 1 

larger  and  more  numerous,  they  catch  them  nearly 
all,  scarcely  any  escaping  during  the  fishing  season 
(April  I  to  August  i).  Whether  an  actual  reduc- 
tion in  the  number  of  fish  running  can  be  proved 
or  not,  there  can  be  no  question  that  the  present 
rate  of  destruction  of  the  salmon  will  deplete  the 
river  before  many  years.  A  considerable  number 
of  quinnat  "saitnTcrrrf un  in  August  and  September, 
and  some  stragglers  even  later ;  these  are  all  which 
now  keep  up  the  supply  of  fish  in  the  river.  The 
non-molestation  of  this  fall  run,  therefore,  does 
something  to  atone  for  the  almost  total  destruction 
of  the  spring  run.  This,  however,  is  insufficient. 
A  well-ordered  salmon  hatchery  is  the  only  means 
by  which  the  destruction  of  the  salmon  fisheries  of 
the  Columbia  River  can  be  prevented. 

The  fact  that  the  humpback  salmon  runs  only 
on  alternate  years  in  Puget  Sound  (1875,  1877, 
1879,  etc.)  is  well  attested  and  at  present  unex- 
plained. Stray  individuals  only  are  taken  in  other 
years.  This  species  has  a  distinct  run  in  the  United 
States  in  Puget  Sound  only,  although  individuals 
(called  "  lost  salmon  ")  are  occasionally  taken  in 
the  Columbia  and  in  the  Sacramento. 

Numerous  attempts  have  been  made  to  introduce 
the  quinnat  salmon  into  the  waters  of  the  Eastern 
States  and  of  Europe.  Individuals  thus  planted 
have  been  taken  in  several  different  localities,  but 
as  yet  not  in  any  considerable  number. 

The  genus  Salmo  comprises  those  forms  of 
salmon  and  trout  which  have  been  longest  known. 
As  in  related  genera,  the  mouth  is  large,  and  the 
jaws,  palatines,  and  tongue  are  armed  with  strong 


62  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

teeth.  The  vomer  is  flat,  its  shaft  not  depressed 
below  the  level  of  the  head  or  chevron  (the  ante- 
rior end).  There  are  a  few  teeth  on  the  chevron; 
and  behind  it,  on  the  shaft,  there  is  either  a  double 
series  of  teeth  or  an  irregular  single  series.  These 
teeth  in  the  true  salmon  disappear  with  age,  but 
in  the  others  (the  black-spotted  trout)  they  are 
persistent.  The  scales  are  silvery,  and  moderate 
or  small  in  size.  There  are  9  to  1 1  developed  rays 
in  the  anal  fin.  The  caudal  fin  is  truncate,  or  va- 
riously  concave  or  forked.  There  are  usually  40 
to  70  pyloric  coeca,  II  or  12  branch iostegals,  and 
about  20  (8-|-i2)  gill-rakers.  The  sexual  pecu- 
liarities are  in  general  less  marked  than  in  Onco- 
rhynchus  ;  they  are  also  greater  in  the  anadromous 
species  than  in  those  which  inhabit  fresh  waters. 
In  general,  the  male  in  the  breeding  season  is 
redder,  its  jaws  are  prolonged,  the  front  teeth  en- 
larged, the  lower  jaw  turned  upwards  at  the  end, 
and  the  upper  jaw  notched,  or  sometimes  even 
perforated,  by  the  tip  of  the  lower.  All  the  species 
of  Salmo  (like  those  of  Oncorhynchus)  are  more  or 
less  spotted  with  black. 

Two  species  (salmon)  are  marine  and  anadro- 
mous, taking  the  place  in  the  North  Atlantic  occu- 
pied in  the  North  Pacific  by  the  King  Salmon  or 
species  of  Oncorhynchus.  The  others  (trout),  form- 
ing the  sub-genus  Salar,  are  non-migratory,  or  at 
least  irregularly  or  imperfectly  anadromous.  They 
abound  in  all  streams  of  northern  Europe,  north- 
ern Asia,  and  in  that  part  of  North  America  which 
lies  west  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  The  black- 
spotted  trout  are  entirely  wanting  in  eastern 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  63 

>- 

America,  —  a  remarkable  fact  in  geographical  dis- 
tribution, perhaps  explained  only  on  the  hypoth- 
esis of  the  comparatively  recent  and  Eurasiatic 
origin  of  the  group,  which,  we  may  suppose,  has 
not  yet  had  opportunity  to  extend  its  range  across 
the  plains,  unsuitable  for  salmon  life,  which  separate 
the  upper  Missouri  from  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  Salmon  (Salmo  salar)  is  the  only  black- 
spotted  salmonoid  found  in  American  waters  tribu- 
tary to  the  Atlantic.  In  Europe,  where  other 
species  similarly  colored  occur,  the  species  may 
be  best  distinguished  by  the  fact  that  the  teeth  on 
the  shaft  of  the  vomer  mostly  disappear  with  age. 
From  the  only  other  species  positively  known 
(Salmo  truttd)  which  shares  this  character,  the 
true  salmon  may  be  distinguished  by  the  presence 
of  but  eleven  scales  between  the  adipose  fin  and  the 
lateral  line,  while  Salmo  trutta  has  about  fourteen. 
The  scales  are  comparatively  large  in  the  salmon, 
there  being  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  in 
the  lateral  line.  The  caudal  fin,  which  is  forked 
in  the  young,  becomes,  as  in  other  species  of  sal- 
mon, more  or  less  truncate  with  age.  The  pyloric 
cceca  are  fifty  to  sixty  in  number. 

The  following  account  of  the  coloration  of 
the  salmon  is  from  Dr.  Day's  "  Fishes  of  Great 
Britain :  "  — 

"  Color  in  adults  superiorly  of  a  steel  blue,  becoming 
lighter  on  the  sides  and  beneath.  Mostly  a  few  rounded 
or  ^-shaped  spots  scattered  above  the  lateral  line  and 
upper  half  of  the  head,  being  more  numerous  in  the 
female  than  in  the  male.  Dorsal,  caudal,  and  pectoral 
fins  dusky;  ventrals  and  anal  white,  the  former  grayish 


64  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

* 

internally.  Prior  to  entering  fresh  waters  these  fish  are 
of  a  brilliant  steel  blue  along  the  back,  which  becomes 
changed  to  a  muddy  tinge  when  they  enter  rivers.  After 
these  fish  have  passed  into  the  fresh  waters  for  the  pur- 
pose of  breeding,  numerous  orange  streaks  appear  in  the 
cheeks  of  the  male,  and  also  spots  or  even  marks  of  the 
same,  and  likewise  of  a  red  color,  on  the  body.  It  is 
now  termed  a  '  red-fish.'  The  female,  however,  is  dark  in 
color,  and  known  as  l  black-fish.'  *  Smolts  '  (young  river 
fish)  are  bluish  along  the  upper  half  of  the  body,  silvery 
along  the  sides,  due  to  a  layer  of  silvery  scales  being 
formed  over  the  trout-like  colors,  while  they  have  darker 
fins  than  the  yearling  *  pink  ; '  but  similar  bands  and  spots, 
which  can  be  seen  (as  in  the  parr)  if  the  example  be  held 
in  certain  positions  of  light.  *  Parr '  (fishes  of  the  year) 
have  two  or  three  black  spots  only  on  the  opercle,  and 
black  spots  and  also  orange  ones  along  the  upper  half  of 
the  body,  and  no  dark  ones  below  the  lateral  line,  al- 
though there  may  be  orange  ones  which  can  be  seen  in 
its  course.  Along  the  side  of  the  body  are  a  series  (12  to 
15)  of  transverse  bluish  bands,  wider  than  the  ground 
color  and  crossing  the  lateral  line,  while  in  the  upper  half 
of  the  body  the  darker  color  of  the  back  forms  an  arch 
over  each  of  these  bands,  a  row  of  spots  along  the  middle 
of  the  rayed  dorsal  fin  and  the  adipose  orange-tipped." 

The  dusky  cross-shades  found  in  the  young  sal- 
mon or  parr  are  characteristic  of  the  young  of 
nearly  all  the  Salmonidce. 

The  salmon  of  the  Atlantic  is,  as  already  stated, 
an  anadromous  fish,  spending  most  of  its  life  in  the 
sea,  and  entering  the  streams  in  the  fall  for  the 
purpose  of  reproduction.  The  time  of  running 
varies  much  in  different  streams  and  also  in  dif- 
ferent countries.  As  with  the  Pacific  species,  these 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  6$ 

salmon  are  not  easily  discouraged  in  their  prog- 
ress, leaping  cascades  and  other  obstructions,  or, 
if  these  prove  impassable,  dying  after  repeated 
fruitless  attempts. 

The  young  salmon,  known  as  the  "  parr,"  is 
hatched  in  the  spring.  It  usually  remainT'about 
two  years  in  the  rivers,  descending  at  about  the 
third  spring  to  the  sea,  when  it  is  known  as 
"  smolt."  In  the  sea  it  grows  much  more  rapidly, 
and  becomes  more  silvery  in  color,  and  is  known 
as  "  grilse."  The  grilse  rapidly  develop  into  the 
adult  salmon;  and  some  of  them,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  grilse  of  the  Pacific  salmon,  are  capable  of 
reproduction. 

After  spawning  the  salmon  are  very  lean  and 
unwholesome  in  appearance,  as  in  fact.  They  are 
then  known  as  "  kelts."  The  Atlantic  salmon  does 
not  ascend  rivers  to  any  such  distances  as  those 
traversed  by  the  quinnat  and  the  blue-back.  Its 
kelts,  therefore,  for  the  most  part  survive  the  act 
of  spawning.  Dr.  Day  thinks  that  they  feed  upon 
the  young  salmon  in  the  rivers,  and  that,  therefore, 
the  destruction  of  the  kelts  might  increase  the 
supply  of  salmon. 

As  a  food-fish,  the  Atlantic  salmon  is  very 
similar  to  the  Pacific  species,  neither  better 
nor  worse,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  when  equally 
fresh.  In  both  the  flesh  is  rich  and  finely  fla- 
vored ;  but  the  appetite  of  man  becomes  cloyed 
with  salmon-flesh  sooner  than  with  that  of  white- 
fish,  smelt,  or  charr.  In  size,  the  Atlantic  salmon 
does  not  fall  far  short  of  the  quinnat.  The  aver- 
age weight  of  the  adult  is  probably  less  than 

5 


66  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

fifteen  pounds.  The  largest  one  of  which  I  find 
a  record  was  taken  on  the  coast  of  Ireland  in 
1 88 1,  and  weighed  eighty- four  and  three-fourths 
pounds. 

The  salmon  is  found  in  Europe  between  the  lati- 
tude of  45°  and  75°.  In  the  United  States  it  is 
now  rarely  seen  south  of  Cape  Cod,  although  for- 
merly the  Hudson  and  numerous  other  rivers  were 
salmon  streams.  Over-fishing,  obstructions  in  the 
rivers,  and  pollution  of  the  water  by  manufactories 
and  by  city  sewage  are  agencies  against  which  the 
salmon  cannot  cope. 

Seven  species  of  salmon  (as  distinguished  from 
trout)  are  recognized  by  Dr.  Giinther  in  Europe, 
and  three  in  America.  The  landlocked  forms, 
abundant  in  Norway,  Sweden,  and  Maine,  which 
cannot,  or  at  least  do  not,  descend  to  the  sea,  are 
regarded  by  him  as  distinct  species.  "  The  ques- 
tion," observes  Dr.  Giinther,  "  whether  any  of  the 
migratory  species  can  be  retained  by  artificial 
means  in  fresh  water,  and  finally  accommodate 
themselves  to  a  permanent  sojourn  therein,  must 
be  negatived  for  the  present."  On  this  point  I 
am  compelled  to  disagree  with  Dr.  Giinther.  I 
have  compared  numerous  specimens  of  the  com- 
mon landlocked  salmon  (Salmo  salar  sebago)  of 
the  lakes  of  Maine  and  New  Brunswick  with  land- 
locked salmon  (Salmo  salar  hardint)  from  the 
lakes  of  Sweden,  and  with  numerous  migratory 
salmon,  both  from  America  and  Europe.  I  can 
have  no  hesitation  in  regarding  them  all  as  specifi- 
cally identical.  The  differences  are  very  trivial  in 
kind,  and  not  greater  than  would  be  expected  on 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  6/ 

the  hypothesis  of  recent  adaptation  of  the  sal- 
mon to  lake-life.  We  have,  therefore,  on  our 
Atlantic  coast  but  one  species  of  salmon,  Salmo 
salar.  Dr.  Francis  Day,  who  has  very  thoroughly 
studied  these  fishes,  takes,  in  his  memoir  on  "  The 
Fishes  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,"  and  in  other 
papers,  a  similar  view  in  regard  to  the  European 
species.  •  Omitting  the  species  with  permanent 
teeth  on  the  shaft  of  the  vomer  (sub-genus  Salar), 
he  finds  among  the  salmon  proper  only  two 
species,  Salmo  salar  and  Salmo  trutta.  The  latter 
species,  the  sea-trout  or  salmon-trout  of  England, 
is  similar  to  the  salmon  in  many  respects,  but  has 
rather  smaller  scales,  there  being  fourteen  in  an 
oblique  series  between  the  adipose  fin  and  the 
lateral  line.  It  is  not  so  strong  a  fish  as  the  sal- 
mon, nor  does  it  reach  so  large  a  size.  Although 
naturally  anadromous,  like  the  true  salmon,  land- 
locked forms  of  the  salmon-trout  are  not  un- 
common. These  have  been  usually  regarded  as 
different  species,  while  aberrant  or  intermediate 
individuals  are  usually  regarded  as  hybrids. 

The  present  writer  has  examined  many  thou- 
sands of  American  Salmonidtf,  both  of  OncorJiyn- 
chus  and  Salmo.  While  many  variations  have 
come  to  his  attention,  and  he  has  been  compelled 
more  than  once  to  modify  his  views  as  to  specific 
distinctions,  he  has  never  yet  seen  an  individual 
which  he  had  the  slightest  reason  to  regard  as  a 
"  hybrid."  It  is  evident  that  in  America  but  few 
species  of  salmonoids  exist,  and  that  these  are 
subject  to  many  variations.  It  is  certainly  illogical 
to  conclude  that  every  specimen  which  does  not 


68  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

correspond  to  our  closet-formed  definition  of  its 
species  must  therefore  be  a  "  hybrid "  with  some 
other.  There  is  no  evidence  worth  mentioning, 
known  to  me,  of  extensive  hybridization  in  a  state 
of  nature  in  any  group  of  fishes.  This  matter  is 
much  in  need  of  further  study;  for  what  is  true  of 
the  species  in  one  region,  in  this  regard,  may  not 
be  true  of  others.  The  species  of  trout,  also,  may 
perhaps  hybridize,  while  Salmo  salar  and  the 
species  of  Oncorhynchus  certainly  do  not.  Dr. 
Giinther  observes :  — 

"Johnson,  a  correspondent  of  Willughby,  had  already 
expressed  his  belief  that  the  different  salmonoids  inter- 
breed ;  and  this  view  has  since  been  shared  by  many  who 
have  observed  these  fishes  in  Nature.  Hybrids  between 
the  sewin  (Salmo  trutta  cambricus}  and  the  river- trout 
(Salmo  far  to)  were  numerous  in  the  Rhymney  and  other 
rivers  of  South  Wales  before  salmonoids  were  almost  ex- 
terminated by  the  pollutions  allowed  to  pass  into  these 
streams,  and  so  variable  in  their  characters  that  the  pas- 
sage from  one  species  to  the  other  could  be  demonstrated 
in  an  almost  unbroken  series,  which  might  induce  some 
naturalists  to  regard  both  species  as  identical.  Abundant 
evidence  of  a  similar  character  has  accumulated,  showing 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  hybrids  between  Salmo  fario 
and  S.  trutta.  ...  In  some  rivers  the  conditions  appear 
to  be  more  favorable  to  hybridism  than  in  others,  in  which 
hybrids  are  of  comparatively  rare  occurrence.  Hybrids 
between  the  salmon  and  other  species  are  very  scarce 
everywhere." 

The  black-spotted  trout,  forming  the  sub-genus 
Salar,  differ  from  Salmo  salar  and  Salmo  trutta  in 
the  greater  development  of  the  vomerine  teeth, 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  69 

which  are  persistent  throughout  life,  in  a  long 
double  series  on  the  shaft  of  the  vomer.  About 
seven  species  are  laboriously  distinguished  by  Dr. 
Giinther,  in  the  waters  of  western  Europe.  Most 
of  these  are  regarded  by  Dr.  Day  as  varieties  of 
Salmo  fario.  The  latter  species,  the  common 
river-trout  or  lake-trout  of  Europe,  is  found 
throughout  northern  and  central  Europe,  wher- 
ever suitable  waters  occur.  It  is  abundant,  gamy, 
takes  the  hook  readily,  and  is  excellent  as  food. 
It  is  more  hardy  than  the  different  species  of  charr, 
although  from  an  aesthetic  point  of  view  it  must 
be  regarded  as  inferior  to  all  of  the  Salvelini. 
The  largest  river-trout  recorded  by  Dr.  Day 
weighed  twenty-one  pounds.  Such  large  indi- 
viduals are  usually  found  in  lakes  in  the  north, 
well  stocked  with  smaller  fishes  on  which  trout 
may  feed.  Farther  south,  where  the  surroundings 
are  less  favorable  to  trout-life,  they  become  mature 
at  a  length  of  less  than  a  foot,  and  a  weight  of  a 
few  ounces.  These  excessive  variations  in  the 
size  of  individuals  have  received  too  little  notice 
from  students  of  Salmonidte,  Similar  variations 
occur  in  all  the  non-migratory  species  of  Salmo 
and  of  Salvelinus.  Numerous  river-trout  have 
been  recorded  from  northern  Asia,  but  as  yet 
nothing  can  be  definitely  stated  as  to  the  number 
of  species  actually  existing. 

In  North  America,  only  the  region  west  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  and  the  valley  of  Mackenzie 
River,  have  species  of  black-spotted  trout.  If  we 
are  to  follow  the  usage  of  the  names  "  salmon  " 
and  "  trout,"  which  prevails  in  England,  we  should 


7O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

say  that  it  is  only  these  Western  regions  which 
have  any  trout  at  all.  Of  the  number  of  species 
(about  twenty  in  all)  which  have  been  indicated 
by  authors,  certainly  not  more  than  four  can 
possibly  be  regarded  as  distinct  species ;  and  of 
these  four,  two  are,  as  will  be  seen,  still  extremely 
doubtful.  The  other  names  are  either  useless 
synonymes,  or  else  they  have  been  applied  to 
local  varieties  which  pass  by  degrees  into  the 
ordinary  types. 

Of  the  American  species  the  Rainbow  Trout 
(Salmo  irideus)  most  nearly  approaches  the  Eu- 
ropean Salmo  fario.  It  has  the  scales  compara- 
tively large,  although  rather  smaller  than  in  Salmo 
farioy  the  usual  number  in  a  longitudinal  series 
being  about  135.  The  mouth  is  smaller  than  in 
other  American  trout;  the  maxillary,  except  in 
old  males,  rarely  extending  beyond  the  eye.  The. 
caudal  fin  is  well  forked,  becoming  in  very  old 
fishes  more  nearly  truncate.  The  color,  as  in  all 
the  other  species,  is  bluish,  the  sides  silvery  in  the 
males,  with  a  red  lateral  band,  and  reddish  and 
dusky  blotches.  The  head,  back,  and  upper  fins 
are  sprinkled  with  round  black  spots,  which  are 
very  variable  in  number.  In  specimens  taken  in 
the  sea,  this  species,  like  most  other  trout  in  sim- 
ilar conditions,  is  bright  silvery,  and  sometimes 
immaculate.  This  species  is  especially  charac- 
teristic of  the  waters  of  California.  It  abounds  in 
every  clear  brook,  from  the  Mexican  line  north- 
ward to  Mount  Shasta,  and  occasionally  in  coast- 
wise streams  to  Alaska.  No  specimens  have  been 
anywhere  obtained  to  the  eastward  of  the  Cascade 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  Jl 

Range  or  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  It  varies  much 
in  size ;  specimens  from  northern  California  often 
reach  a  weight  of  six  pounds,  while  in  the  Rio  San 
Luis  Rey,  the  southernmost  locality  from  which  I 
have  obtained  trout,  they  seldom  exceed  a  length 
of  six  inches.  Although  not  an  anadromous  spe- 
cies, the  rainbow  trout  frequently  moves  about  in 
the  rivers,  and  it  often  enters  the  sea.  Several  at- 
tempts have  been  made  to  introduce  it  in  Eastern 
streams.  It  is  apparently  more  hardy  and  less 
greedy  than  the  American  Charr,  or  Brook  Trout 
(Salvelinusfontinalis).  On  the  other  hand,  it  is 
distinctly  inferior  to  the  latter  in  beauty  and  in 
gaminess. 

The  Steel-head  {Salmo  gairdneri)  is  a  large 
trout,  of  twelve  to  twenty  pounds  in  weight,  found 
very  abundantly  in  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia 
and  other  rivers,  in  the  spring,  at  the  time  of  the 
early  salmon  run.  These  are  evidently  spent 
fishes.  This  fact  would  indicate  a  spawning  time 
later  (probably  midwinter)  than  that  of  the  sal- 
mon, and  their  occurrence  in  the  river  at  the 
salmon  run  is  evidently  due  to  a  return  toward  the 
sea.  Steel-heads  are  occasionally  taken  in  the  Sac- 
ramento, but  in  the  Columbia  they  are  abundant. 
They  are  rejected  by  the  salmon  fishermen,  as 
their  flesh  is  pale,  and  the  bones  are  much  more 
firmly  ossified  than  in  the  species  of  Oncorhynchus. 
The  soft  characters  of  the  bones  in  the  latter 
group,  as  compared  with  those  of  the  larger  trout, 
is  one  feature  of  their  excellence  as  food,  espe- 
cially in  the  canned  condition. 

Comparing    the   steel-heads    with   the    rainbow 


72  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

trout,  we  find  no  differences,  other  than  that  the 
former  is  of  much  larger  size,  and  has  a  larger 
mouth,  and  its  caudal  fin  is  truncate  instead  of 
forked.  But  the  tail  becomes  more  truncate,  and 
the  mouth  larger  with  age  in  .all  species  of  salmon 
and  trout.  If  a  rainbow  trout  were  to  reach  the 
size  of  the  steel-head,  it  ought  to  acquire  charac- 
ters similar  to  those  of  the  latter  species.  Con- 
versely, unless  the  rainbow  trout  are  young  of  the 
steel-head,  the  young  of  the  latter  are  unknown. 
It  is  my  belief  that  the  steel-head  is  simply  the 
large  rainbow  trout  which  has  lived  in  the  sea,  and 
ascends  the  river  to  spawn.  If  this  be  true,  Salmo 
irideus  must  be  omitted  from  our  lists,  as  identical 
with  Salmo  gairdneri,  the  latter  name  being  the 
earlier  one. 

The  most  widely  distributed,  and  decidedly  the 
most  important,  of  the  American  black-spotted- 
trout  is  the  Salmo  mykiss  (==  Salmo  purpuratns 
and  clarki  of  authors),  or,  as  we  call  it,  the  Red- 
throated  Trout.  This  species  has  much  smaller 
scales  than  the  rainbow  trout  or  steel-head,  the 
usual  number  in  a  longitudinal  series  being  150 
to  170.  Its  mouth  is  proportionately  larger,  and 
there  is  usually  a  narrow  band  of  small  teeth  on 
the  hyoid  bone  at  the  base  of  the  tongue. 
These  teeth  are  always  wanting  in  Salmo  irideus 
and  gairdneri.  The  color  in  Salmo  mykiss  is,  as 
in  other  species,  excessively  variable.  In  almost 
all  specimens  there  is  a  deep-red  blotch  on  the 
throat,  between  the  branches  of  the  lower  jaw  and 
the  membrane  connecting  them.  This  I  have  not 
found  in  other  species;  and  as  it  seems  to  be 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  73 

constant  in  all  varieties  of  Salmo  mykiss,  at  all  ages, 
it  will  furnish  a  good  distinctive  character.  The 
red-throated  trout  is  found  in  every  suitable  river 
and  lake  in  the  great  basin  of  Utah,  in  the  streams 
of  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Montana,  on  both 
sides  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  is  also  found 
throughout  Oregon,  Washington,  Idaho,  British 
Columbia,  and  Alaska,  probably  no  stream  or  lake 
suitable  for  salmonoid  life  being  without  it.  In 
California  the  species  seems  to  be  comparatively 
rare,  and  its  range  has  not  been  well  made  out. 
Large  sea-run  individuals  apparently  analogous  to 
the  steel-heads  are  sometimes  found  in  the  mouth 
of  the  Sacramento.  In  Washington  Territory  and 
Alaska  this  species  regularly  enters  the  sea.  In 
Puget  Sound  it  is  a  common  fish.  These  sea-run 
individuals  are  more  silvery  and  less  spotted  than 
those  found  in  the  mountain  streams  and  lakes. 
Numerous  more  or  less  tangible  varieties  of  Salmo 
mykiss  occur,  one  of  the  most  marked  of  which  is 
the  beautiful  trout  (Salmo  mykiss  henshawi]  found 
in  Lake  Tahoe,  the  finest  of  all  the  mountain  lakes 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  The  size  of  Salmo  mykiss 
is  subject  to  much  variation.  Ordinarily,  four  to 
six  pounds  is  a  large  size ;  but  in  certain  favored 
waters,  as  Lake  Tahoe,  and  the  fjord  bays  of  the 
Northwest,  specimens  from  twenty  to  thirty  pounds 
are  occasionally  taken.  No  attempt  has  been 
made  (1880)  to  transport  this,  the  finest  known 
species  of  black-spotted  trout,  to  Eastern  waters. 
The  writer  thinks  it  much  worthier  of  experiment, 
in  this  regard,  than  the  rainbow  trout.  The 
great  variety  of  the  waters  in  which  it  occurs 


74  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

seems  to  promise  a  ready  adaptation  to  other 
surroundings. 

The  Rio  Grande  Trout  (Salmo  mykiss  spilurus) 
is  a  large  and  profusely  spotted  trout,  found  in 
the  head-waters  of  the  Rio  Grande,  the  mountain 
streams  of  the  great  basin  of  Utah,  and  as  far 
south  as  the  northern  part  of  Chihuahua.  Its 
scales  are  still  smaller  than  those  of  the  red- 
throated  trout,  to  which  it  bears  much  resem- 
blance, and  of  which  it  is  probably  simply  a  local 
variety. 

The  genus  Hucho  has  been  framed  for  the  Huchen 
or  Rothfisch  (Hucho  huchd]  of  the  Danube,  —  a  large 
salmon,  differing  from  the  genus  Salmo  in  having 
no  teeth  on  the  shaft  of  the  vomer,  and  from  the 
Salvelini  at  least  in  form  and  coloration.  The 
real  characters  of  the  genus,  which  seems  to  be 
distinct  from  Salvelinus,  have  not  yet  been- 
worked  out.  The  Huchen  is  a  long  and  slender, 
somewhat  pike-like  fish,  with  depressed  snout  and 
strong  teeth.  The  color  is  silvery,  sprinkled  with 
small  black  dots.  It  reaches  a  size  little  inferior 
to  that  of  the  salmon,  and  it  is  said  to  be  an 
excellent  food-fish.  Little  is  known  of  its  habits. 
It  has,  however,  the  reputation  of  being  unusually 
voracious  for  a  salmon. 

The  genus  Salvelinus  comprises  the  finest  of  the 
Salmonidce,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  angler 
or  the  artist.  In  England  the  species  are  known 
as  charr,  in  contradistinction  to  the  black-spotted 
species  of  Salmo,  which  are  called  trout.  The 
former  name  has  unfortunately  been  lost  in  Amer- 
ica, where  the  name  " trout"  is  given  indiscrimi- 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  J$ 

nately  to  both  groups,  and,  still  worse,  to  numerous 
other  fishes  (Cestreus,  Micropterus,  Hexagrammus) 
wholly  unlike  the  Salmonidcz  in  all  respects.  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  the  "  American  brook-trout  is 
no  trout,  nothing  but  a  charr,"  almost  as  though 
"  charr  "  were  a  word  of  reproach.  Nothing  higher, 
however,  can  be  said  of  a  salmonoid  than  that  it  is 
a  "  charr."  The  technical  character  of  the  genus 
Salvelinus  lies  in  the  form  of  its  vomer.  This  is 
deeper  than  in  Salmo ;  and  when  the  flesh  is  re- 
moved the  bone  is  found  to  be  somewhat  boat- 
shaped  above,  and  with  the  shaft  depressed  and  out 
of  the  line  of  the  chevron.  Only  the  chevron  is 
armed  with  teeth,  and  the  shaft  is  covered  by  skin. 
In  one  species  (S.  namaycusJi)  the  chevron  sends  a 
projection  backward  which  bears  teeth  ;  these  teeth 
appearing,  unless  the  flesh  is  removed,  as  if  stand- 
ing on  the  shaft  of  the  bone. 

In  color  all  the  charrs  differ  from  the  salmon 
and  trout.  The  body  in  all  is  covered  with  round 
spots  which  are  paler  than  the  ground  color,  and 
crimson  or  gray.  The  lower  fins  are  usually  edged 
with  bright  colors.  The  sexual  differences  are  not 
great.  The  scales,  in  general,  are  smaller  than  in 
other  Salmonidce,  and  they  are  imbedded  in  the  skin 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  escape  the  notice  of  casual 
observers  and  even  of  most  anglers. 

"  One  trout  scale  in  the  scales  I  'd  lay 
(If  trout  had  scales),  and  't  will  outweigh 
The  wrong  side  of  the  balances." 

LOWELL. 

The  charrs  inhabit,  in  general,  only  the  clearest 
and  coldest  of  mountain  streams  and  lakes.  They 


76  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

are  not  migratory,  or  only  to  a  limited  extent.  In 
northern  regions  they  descend  to  the  sea,  where 
they  grow  much  more  rapidly,  and  assume  a  nearly 
uniform  silvery-gray  color.  The  different  species 
are  found  in  all  suitable  waters  throughout  the 
northern  parts  of  both  continents,  except  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  Great  Basin,  where  only 
the  black-spotted  trout  occur.  The  number  of 
species  of  charr  is  very  uncertain,  as,  both  in 
America  and  Europe,  trivial  variations  and  indi- 
vidual peculiarities  have  been  raised  to  the  rank 
of  species.  More  types,  however,  seem  to  be  rep- 
resented in  America  than  in  Europe. 

The  only  really  well-authenticated  species  of 
charr  in  European  waters  is  the  Red  Charr,  Salb- 
ling,  or  Ombre  Chevalier  (Salvelinus  alpinus). 
This  species  is  found  in  cold  clear  streams  in 
Switzerland,  Germany,  and  throughout  Scandina-- 
via  and  the  British  Islands.  Compared  with  the 
American  charr  or  brook-trout,  it  is  a  slenderer 
fish,  with  smaller  mouth,  longer  fins,  and  smaller 
red  spots,  which  are  confined  to  the  sides  of  the 
body.  It  is  a  "  gregarious  and  deep-swimming  fish, 
shy  of  taking  the  bait  and  feeding  largely  at  night- 
time. It  appears  to  require  very  pure  and  mostly 
deep  water  for  its  residence."  It  is  less  tenacious 
of  life  than  the  trout.  It  reaches  a  weight  of  from 
one  to  five  pounds,  probably  rarely  exceeding  the 
latter  in  size.  The  various  charr  described  from 
Siberia  are  far  too  little  known  to  be  enumerated 
here. 

Of  the  American  charr  the  one  most  resembling 
the  European  species  is  the  Rangeley  Lake  Trout 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  77 

(Salvelinus  stagnalis).  The  exquisite  little  fish  is 
known  in  the  United  States  only  from  the  Rangeley 
chain  of  lakes  in  western  Maine.  Quite  lately 
specimens  of  what  appears  to  be  the  same  species 
have  been  taken  in  Arctic  America,  about  Cum- 
berland Gulf.  Still  later,  Dr.  T.  H.  Bean  has  shown 
its  identity  with  the  Greenland  charr.  Whether 
the  species  still  inhabits  any  intervening  waters  is 
unknown.  The  Rangeley  trout  is  much  slenderer 
than  the  common  brook-trout,  with  much  smaller 
head  and  smaller  mouth.  In  life  it  is  dark  blue 
above,  and  the  deep  red  spots  are  confined  to  the 
sides  of  the  body.  The  species  rarely  exceeds  the 
length  of  a  foot  in  the  Rangeley  Lakes,  but  in  some 
other  waters  it  reaches  a  much  larger  size.  So  far 
as  is  known  it  keeps  itself  in  the  depths  of  the  lake 
until  its  spawning  season  approaches,  in  October, 
when  it  ascends  the  stream  to  spawn. 

Another  beautiful  little  charr,  allied  to  Salvelinus 
stagnalis,  is  the  Floeberg  Charr  (Salvelinus  arcturus). 
This  species  has  been  brought  from  Victoria  Lake 
and  Floeberg  Beach,  in  the  extreme  northern  part 
of  Arctic  America,  the  northernmost  point  whence 
any  salmonoid  has  been  obtained. 

The  American  Charr,  or,  as  it  is  usually  called, 
the  Brook  Trout  (Salvelinus  fontinalis),  although 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  fishes,  is  perhaps  the 
least  graceful  of  all  the  genuine  charrs.  It  is  tech- 
nically distinguished  by  the  somewhat  heavy  head 
and  large  mouth,  the  maxillary  bone  reaching  more 
or  less  beyond  the  eye.  There  are  no  teeth  on  the 
hyoid  bone,  traces  at  least  of  such  teeth  being 
found  in  nearly  all  other  species.  Its  color  is 


78  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  others,  the  red 
spots  being  large  and  the  back  more  or  less  mot- 
tled and  barred  with  darker  olive.  The  dorsal  and 
caudal  fins  are  likewise  barred  or  mottled,  while  in 
the  other  species  they  are  generally  uniform  in 
color.  The  brook-trout  is  found  only  in  streams 
east  of  the  Mississippi  and  Saskatchewan.  It 
occurs  in  all  suitable  streams  of  the  Alleghany  re- 
gion and  the  Great  Lake  system,  from  the  Chatta- 
hoochee  River  in  northern  Georgia  northward  at 
least  to  Labrador  and  Hudson  Bay,  the  northern  lim- 
its of  its  range  being  as  yet  not  well  ascertained.  It 
varies  greatly  in  size,  according  to  its  surroundings, 
those  found  in  lakes  being  larger  than  those  resi- 
dent in  small  brooks.  Those  found  farthest  south, 
in  the  head-waters  of  the  Chattahoochee,  Savannah, 
Catawba,  and  French  Broad,  rarely  pass  the  dimen- 
sions of  fingerlings.  The  largest  specimens  are 
recorded  from  the  sea  along  the  Canadian  coast. 
These  frequently  reach  a  weight  of  ten  pounds ; 
and  from  their  marine  and  migratory  habits,  they 
may  be  regarded  as  forming  a  distinct  variety  (Sal- 
velinus  fontinalis  immaciilatus) .  The  largest  fresh- 
water specimens  rarely  exceed  seven  pounds  in' 
weight.  Some  unusually  large  brook-trout  have 
been  taken  in  the  Rangeley  Jakes,  the  largest  known 
to  me  having  a  reputed  weight  of  eleven  pounds. 
The  brook-trout  is  the  favorite  game-fish  of  Amer- 
ican waters,  pre-eminent  in  wariness,  in  beauty,  and 
in  delicacy  of  flesh.  It  inhabits  all  clear  and  cold 
waters  within  its  range,  the  large  lakes  and  the 
smallest  ponds,  the  tiniest  brooks  and  the  largest 
rivers ;  and  when  it  can  do  so  without  soiling  its 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  79 

aristocratic  gills  on  the  way,  it  descends  to  the 
sea  and  grows  large  and  fat  on  the  animals  of  the 
ocean.  Although  a  bold  biter  it  is  a  wary  fish, 
and  it  often  requires  much  skill  to  capture  it.  It 
can  be  caught  too  with  artificial  or  natural  flies, 
minnows,  crickets,  worms,  grasshoppers,  grubs,  the 
spawn  of  other  fish,  or  even  the  eyes  or  cut  pieces 
of  other  trout.  It  spawns  in  the  fall,  from  Septem- 
ber to  late  in  November.  It  begins  to  reproduce 
at  the  age  of  two  years,  then  having  a  length  of 
about  six  inches.  In  spring-time  the  trout  delight 
in  rapids  and  swiftly  running  water;  and  in  the  hot 
months  of  midsummer  they  resort  to  deep,  cool, 
and  shaded  pools.  Later,  at  the  approach  of  the 
spawning  season,  they  gather  around  the  mouths 
of  cool,  gravelly  brooks  whither  they  resort  to 
make  their  beds.1 

The  trout  are  rapidly  disappearing  from  our 
streams  through  the  agency  of  the  manufacturer 
and  the  summer-boarder.  In  the  words  of  an  ex- 
cellent angler,  Rev.  Myron  W.  Reed,  — 

"  This  is  the  last  generation  of  trout-fishers.  The 
children  will  not  be  able  to  find  any.  Already  there  are 
well-trodden  paths  by  every  stream  in  Maine,  in  New 
York,  and  in  Michigan.  I  know  of  but  one  river  in  North 
America  by  the  side  of  which  you  will  find  no  paper  collar 
or  other  evidence  of  civilization.  It  is  the  Nameless  River. 
Not  that  trout  will  cease  to  be.  They  will  be  hatched  by 
machinery  and  raised  in  ponds,  and  fattened  on  chopped 
liver,  and  grow  flabby  and  lose  their  spots.  The  trout  of 
the  restaurant  will  not  cease  to  be.  He  is  no  more  like 
the  trout  of  the  wild  river  than  the  fat  and  songless  reed- 

i  Hallock. 


80  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

bird  is  like  the  bobolink.  Gross  feeding  and  easy  pond 
life  enervate  and  deprave  him.  The  trout  that  the  chil- 
dren will  know  only  by  legend  is  the  gold-springled  living 
arrow  of  the  white  water  ;  able  to  zigzag  up  the  cataract ; 
able  to  loiter  in  the  rapids ;  whose  dainty  meat  is  the 
glancing  butterfly." 

The  brook-trout  adapts  itself  readily  to  cultiva- 
tion in  artificial  ponds.  It  has  been  successfully 
transported  to  Europe,  and  is  already  abundant  in 
certain  streams  in  England  and  elsewhere. 

The  "  Dolly  Varden  "  Trout  {Salvelinus  malmd) 
is  very  similar  to  the  brook-trout,  closely  resem- 
bling it  in  size,  form,  color,  and  habits.  It  is 
found  in  the  streams  of  northern  California,  Ore- 
gon, Washington,  British  Columbia,  Alaska,  and 
Kamtschatka,  mostly  to  the  westward  of  the  Cas- 
cade Range.  It  often  enters  the  sea,  and  specimens 
of  eleven  pounds'  weight  have  been  obtained  by  the 
writer  in  Puget  Sound.  The  Dolly  Varden  trout 
is,  in  general,  deeper  in  body,  and  less  compressed 
than  the  Eastern  brook-trout.  The  red  spots  are 
found  on  the  back  of  the  fish  as  well  as  on  the 
sides,  and  the  back  and  upper  fins  are  without  the 
marblings  and  blotches  seen  in  Salvelinus  fon- 
tinalis.  In  value  as  food,  in  beauty,  and  in  ga- 
miness,  Salvelinus  malma  is  very  -similar  to  its 
Eastern  cousin. 

Allied  to  the  true  charrs,  and  now  placed  by  us 
with  them  in  the  genus  Salvelinus,  is  the  Great  Lake 
Trout,  otherwise  known  as  Mackinaw  Trout,  Longe, 
or  Togue  {Salvelinus  namaycusJi) .  Technically, 
this  fish  differs  from  the  true  charrs  in  having  on 
its  vomer  a  raised  crest  behind  the  chevron,  and 


THE  SALMON  FAMILY.  8 1 

free  from  the  shaft.  This  crest  is  armed  with 
strong  teeth.  There  are  also  large  hooked  teeth 
on  the  hyoid  bone,  and  the  teeth  generally  are 
proportionately  stronger  than  in  most  of  the  other 
species.  The  great  lake-trout  is  grayish  in  color, 
light  or  dark  according  to  its  surroundings;  and 
the  body  is  covered  with  round  paler  spots,  which 
are  gray  instead  of  red.  The  dorsal  and  caudal 
fins  are  marked  with  darker  reticulations,  some- 
what as  in  the  brook-trout.  The  great  lake-trout 
is  found  in  all  the  larger  lakes  from  New  England 
and  New  York  to  Wisconsin,  Montana,  and  Alaska. 
It  reaches  a  much  larger  size  than  any  other  Sal- 
velinus,  specimens  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  pounds' 
weight  being  not  uncommon,  while  it  occasionally 
attains  a  weight  of  fifty  to  eighty  pounds.  As  a 
food-fish  it  ranks  high,  although  it  may  be  re- 
garded as  somewhat  inferior  to  the  brook-trout  or 
the  white-fish.  Compared  with  other  salmonoids, 
the  great  lake-trout  is  a  sluggish,  heavy,  and  rav- 
enous fish.  It  has  been  known  to  eat  raw  potato, 
liver,  and  corn-cobs,  —  refuse  thrown  from  passing 
steamers.  According  to  Herbert,  "  a  coarse, 
heavy,  stiff  rod,  and  a  powerful  oiled  hempen  or 
flaxen  line,  on  a  winch,  with  a  heavy  sinker;  a 
cod-hook,  baited  with  any  kind  of  flesh,  fish,  or 
fowl,  —  is  the  most  successful,  if  not  the  most  or- 
thodox or  scientific,  mode  of  capturing  him.  His 
great  size  and  immense  strength  alone  give  him 
value  as  a  fish  of  game ;  but  when  hooked,  he  pulls 
strongly  and  fights  hard,  though  he  is  a  boring, 
deep  fighter,  and  seldom  if  ever  leaps  out  of  the 
water,  like  the  true  salmon  or  brook-trout." 

6 


82  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

In  the  depths  of  Lake  Superior  is  a  variety  of 
the  great  lake-trout  known  as  the  Siscowet  (Sal- 
velinus  namaycush  siskawitz),  remarkable  for  its 
extraordinary  fatness  of  flesh.  The  cause  of  this 
difference  lies  probably  in  some  peculiarity  of  food, 
as  yet  unascertained. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       83 


THE   DISPERSION   OF   FRESH-WATER 
FISHES. 

WHEN  I  was  a  boy  and  went  fishing  in  the 
brooks  of  western  New  York,  I  noticed 
that  the  different  streams  did  not  always  have  the 
same  kinds  of  fishes  in  them.  Two  streams  in 
particular  in  Wyoming  County,  not  far  from  my 
father's  farm,  engaged  in  this  respect  my  special 
attention.  Their  sources  are  not  far  apart,  and 
they  flow  in  opposite  directions,  on  opposite  sides 
of  a  low  ridge,  —  an  old  glacial  moraine,  something 
more  than  a  mile  across.  The  Oatka  Creek  flows 
northward  from  this  ridge,  while  the  East  Coy 
runs  toward  the  southeasjt  on  the  other  side  of  it, 
both  flowing  ultimately  into  the  same  river,  the 
Genesee. 

It  does  not  require  a  very  careful  observer  to 
see  that  in  these  two  streams  the  fishes  are  not 
quite  the  same.  The  streams  themselves  are  simi- 
lar enough.  In  each  the  waters  are  clear  and  fed 
by  springs.  Each  flows  over  gravel  and  clay, 
through  alluvial  meadows,  in  many  windings,  and 
with  elms  and  alders  "  in  all  its  elbows."  In  both 
streams  we  were  sure  of  finding  Trout,1  and  in  one 
of  them  the  trout  are  still  abundant.  In  both  we 
used  to  catch  the  Brook  Chub,2  or,  as  we  called 

1  Salvdimis  fontinalis  Mitchill. 

2  Semotilus  atromaculatus  Mitchill. 


84  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

it,  the  "  Horned  Dace ;  "  and  in  both  were  large 
schools  of  Shiners l  and  of  Suckers.2  But  in  every 
deep  hole,  and  especially  in  the  mill-ponds  along 
the  East  Coy  Creek,  the  Horned  Pout3  swarmed 
on  the  mucky  bottoms.  In  every  eddy,  or  in  the 
deep  hole  worn  out  at  the  root  of  the  elm-trees, 
could  be  seen  the  Sun-fish,4  strutting  in  green  and 
scarlet,  with  spread  fins  keeping  intruders  away 
from  its  nest.  But  in  the  Oatka  Creek  were  found 
neither  Horned  Pout  nor  Sun-fish,  nor  have  I  ever 
heard  that  either  has  been  taken  there.  Then  be- 
sides these  nobler  fishes,  worthy  of  a  place  on 
every  school-boy's  string,  we  knew  by  sight,  if  not 
by  name,  numerous  smaller  fishes,  Darters5  and 
Minnows,6  which  crept  about  in  the  gravel  on  the 
bottom  of  the  East  Coy,  but  which  we  never  recog- 
nized in  the  Oatka. 

There  must  be  a  reason  for  differences  like  these, 
in  the  streams  themselves  or  in  the  nature  of  the 
fishes.  The  Sun-fish  and  the  Horned  Pout  are 
home-loving  fishes  to  a  greater  extent  than  the 
others  which  I  have  mentioned ;  still,  where  no  ob- 
stacles prevent,  they  are  sure  to  move  about. 
There  must  be,  then,  in  the  Oatka  some  sort  of 
barrier,  or  strainer,  which  keeping  these  species 
back  permits  others  more  adventurous  to  pass; 
and  a  wider  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the 
region  showed  that  such  is  the  case.  Farther 

1  Notropis  ntegalops  Rafinesque. 

2  Catostomus  teres  Mitchill. 

3  Ameiurus  melas  Rafinesque. 

4  L  epom  is  gibbosus  Li  n  n  as  u  s . 

6  Etheostoma  flabcllarc  Rafinesque.*. 
6  R/'iinichthys  alronasus  Mitchill. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESPI-WATER  FISHES.       85 

down  in  its  course,  the  Oatka  falls  over  a  ledge  of 
rock,  forming  a  considerable  waterfall  at  Rock 
Glen.  Still  lower  down  its  waters  disappear  in  the 
ground,  sinking  into  some  limestone  cavern  or 
gravel-bed,  from  which  they  reappear,  after  some  six 
miles,  in  the  large  springs  at  Caledonia.  Either 
of  these  barriers  might  well  discourage  a  quiet- 
loving  fish ;  while  the  trout  and  its  active  associates 
have  sometime  passed  them,  else  we  should  not 
find  them  in  the  upper  waters  in  which  they  alone 
form  the  fish-fauna.  This  problem  is  a  simple 
one;  a  boy  could  work  it  out,  and  the  obvious 
solution  seems  to  be  satisfactory. 

Since  those  days  I  have  been  a  fisherman  in 
many  waters,  —  not  an  angler  exactly,  but  one  who 
fishes  for  fish,  and  to  whose  net  nothing  large  or 
small  ever  comes  amiss ;  and  wherever  I  go,  I  find 
cases  like  this. 

We  do  not  know  all  the  fishes  of  America  yet, 
nor  all  those  well  that  we  know  by  sight ;  still  this 
knowledge  will  come  with  time  and  patience,  and 
to  procure  it  is  a  comparatively  easy  task.  It  is 
also  easy  to  ascertain  the  more  common  inhabi- 
tants of  any  given  stream.  It  is  difficult,  however, 
to  obtain  negative  results  which  are  really  results. 
You  cannot  often  say  that  a  species  does  not  live 
in  a  certain  stream.  You  can  only  affirm  that  you 
have  not  yet  found  it  there,  and  you  can  rarely  fish 
in  any  stream  so  long  that  you  can  find  nothing 
that  you  have  not  taken  before.  Still  more  difficult 
is  it  to  gather  the  results  of  scattered  observations 
into  general  statements  regarding  the  distribution 
of  fishes.  The  facts  may  be  so  few  as  to  be 


86  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

misleading,  or  so  numerous  as  to  be  confusing; 
and  the  few  writers  who  have  taken  up  this  subject 
in  detail  have  found  both  these  difficulties  to  be 
serious.  Whatever  general  propositions  we  may 
maintain  must  be  stated  with  the  modifying  clause 
of  "  other  things  being  equal ;  "  and  other  things 
are  never  quite  equal.  Dr.  Wilder's  saying  that 
"  Nature  abhors  a  generalization  "  is  especially  ap- 
plicable to  all  discussions  of  the  relations  of  species 
to  environment. 

Still  less  satisfactory  is  our  attempt  to  investi- 
gate the  causes  on  which  our  partial  generaliza- 
tions depend,  —  to  attempt  to  break  to  pieces  the 
"  other  things  being  equal  "  which  baffle  us  in  our 
search  for  general  laws.  Scarcely  anything  has 
been  written  on  this  phase  of  the  subject  from  an 
American  point  of  view.  This  little  I  have  tried 
to  include  with  my  own  observations,  in  preparing 
this  paper.  The  same  problems,  of  course,  come 
up  on  each  of  the  other  continents  and  in  all 
groups  of  animals  or  plants  ;  but  most  that  I 
shall  say  will  be  confined  to  the  question  of  the 
dispersion  of  fishes  in  the  fresh  waters  of  North 
America.  The  broader  questions  of  the  bounda- 
ries of  faunae  and  of  faunal  areas  I  shall  bring  up 
only  incidentally. 

Some  of  the  problems  to  be  solved  were  first 
noticed  by  Professor  Agassiz  in  1850,  in  his  work 
on  Lake  Superior.  Later  (1854),  in  a  paper  on 
the  fishes  of  the  Tennessee  River,1  he  makes  the 
following  statement :  — 

1  On  Fishes  from  Tennessee  River,  Alabama.  American  Jour- 
nal of  Science  and  Arts,  xvii.  2d  series,  1854,  p.  26. 


r'    C          T  - 
g^-^n-Y 

VSIOXT  OF  "FRESH- 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       87 

"  The  study  of  these  features  [of  distribution]  is  of  the 
greatest  importance,  inasmuch  as  it  may  eventually  lead 
to  a  better  understanding  of  the  intentions  implied  in  this 
seemingly  arbitrary  disposition  of  animal  life.  .  .  . 

"There  is  still  another  very  interesting  problem  re- 
specting the  geographical  distribution  of  our  fresh-water 
animals,  which  may  be  solved  by  the  further  investigation 
of  the  fishes  of  the  Tennessee  River.  The  water-course, 
taking  the  Powells,  Clinch,  and  Holston  Rivers  as  its 
head-waters,  arises  from  the  mountains  of  Virginia  in 
latitude  37°  ;  it  then  flows  S.  W.  to  latitude  34°  25',  when 
it  turns  W.  and  N.  W.,  and  finally  empties  into  the  Ohio, 
under  the  same  latitude  as  its  source  in  37°. 

"  The  question  now  is  this  :  Are  the  fishes  of  this  water 
system  the  same  throughout  its  extent?  In  which  case 
we  should  infer  that  water  communication  is  the  chief 
condition  of  geographical  distribution  of  our  fresh-water 
fishes.  Or  do  they  differ  in  different  stations  along  its 
course?  And  if  so,  are  the  differences  mainly  controlled 
by  the  elevation  of  the  river  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  or 
determined  by  climatic  differences  corresponding  to  dif- 
ferences of  latitude?  We  should  assume  that  the  first 
alternative  was  true  if  the  fishes  of  the  upper  course  of 
the  river  differed  from  those  of  the  middle  and  lower 
courses  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  Danube,  from  its 
source  to  Pesth,  where  this  stream  flows  nearly  for  its 
whole  length  under  the  same  parallel.  We  would,  on 
the  contrary,  suppose  the  second  alternative  to  be  well 
founded  if  marked  differences  were  observed  between 
the  fish  of  such  tracts  of  the  river  as  do  not  materially 
differ  in  their  elevation  above  the  sea,  but  flow  under 
different  latitudes.  Now,  a  few  collections  from  different 
stations  along  this  river,  like  that  sent  me  by  Dr.  New- 
man from  the  vicinity  of  Huntsville,  would  settle  at  once 
this  question,  not  for  the  Tennessee  River  alone,  but  for 


88  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

most  rivers  flowing  under  similar  circumstances  upon  the 
surface  of  the  globe.  Nothing,  however,  short  of  such 
collections,  compared  closely  with  one  another,  will  fur- 
nish a  -reliable  answer.  .  .  .  Whoever  will  accomplish 
this  survey  will  have  made  a  highly  valuable  contribution 
to  our  knowledge." 

Certain  conclusions  were  also  suggested  by 
Professor  Cope  in  his  excellent  memoir  on  the 
fishes  of  the  Alleghany  region1  in  1868.  From 
this  paper  I  make  the  following  quotations :  — 

"The  distribution  of  fresh-water  fishes  is  of  special 
importance  to  the  questions  of  the  origin  and  existence  of 
species  in  connection  with  the  physical  conditions  of  the 
waters  and  of  the  land.  This  is,  of  course,  owing  to  the 
restricted  nature  of  their  habitat,  and  the  impossibility  of 
their  making  extended  migrations.  With  the  submer- 
gence of  land  beneath  the  sea,  fresh-water  fish  are  de- 
stroyed in  proportion  to  the  extent  of  the  invasion  of  salt 
water,  while  terrestrial  vertebrates  can  retreat  before  it. 
Hence  every  inland  fish-fauna  dates  from  the  last  total 
submergence  of  the  country. 

"  Prior  to  the  elevation  of  a  given  mountain  chain,  the 
courses  of  the  rivers  may  generally  have  been  entirely 
different  from  their  later  ones.  Subsequent  to  this  period, 
they  can  only  have  undergone  partial  modifications.  As 
subsequent  submergences  can  rarely  have  extended  to 
the  highlands  where  such  streams  originate,  the  fishes  of 
such  rivers  can  only  have  been  destroyed  so  far  as  they 
were  unable  to  reach  those  elevated  regions,  and  preserve 
themselves  from  destruction  from  salt  water  by  sheltering 
themselves  in  mountain  streams.  On  the  other  hand, 

1  On  the  Distribution  of  Fresh-Water  Fishes  in  the  Alleghany 
Region  of  Southwestern  Virginia.  Journ.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila., 
1868,  pp.  207-247. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       89 

a  period  of  greater  elevation  of  the  land,  and  of  conse- 
quent greater  cold,  would  congeal  the  waters  and  cover 
their  courses  with  glaciers.  The  fishes  would  be  driven 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  coast,  though  no  doubt  in 
more  southern  latitudes  a  sufficient  extent  of  uncongealed 
fresh  waters  would  flow  by  a  short  course  into  the  ocean, 
to  preserve  from  destruction  many  forms  of  fresh-water 
fishes.  Thus,  through  many  vicissitudes,  the  fauna  of  a 
given  system  of  rivers  has  had  opportunity  of  uninter- 
rupted descent,  from  the  time  of  the  elevation  of  the 
mountain  range,  in  which  it  has  its  sources.  .  .  . 

"  As  regards  the  distinction  of  species  in  the  discon- 
nected basins  of  different  rivers,  which  have  been  sepa- 
rated from  an  early  geologic  period,  if  species  occur 
which  are  common  to  any  two  or  more  of  them,  the  sup- 
porter of  the  theory  of  distinct  creations  must  suppose 
that  such  species  have  been  twice  created,  once  for  each 
hydrographic  basin,  or  that  waters  flowing  into  the  one 
basin  have  been  transferred  to  another.  The  develop- 
mentalist,  on  the  other  hand,  will  accept  the  last  propo- 
sition, or  else  suppose  that  time  has  seen  an  identical 
process  and  similar  result  of  modification  in  these  dis- 
tinct regions. 

"  Facts  of  distribution  in  the  eastern  district  of  North 
America  are  these.  Several  species  of  fresh- water  fishes 
occur  at  the  same  time  in  many  Atlantic  basins,  from 
the  Merrimac  or  from  the  Hudson  to  the  James,  and 
throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  in  the  tributaries 
of  the  Great  Lakes.  On  the  other  hand,  the  species  of 
each  river  may  be  regarded  as  pertaining  to  four  classes, 
whose  distribution  has  direct  reference  to  the  character 
of  the  water  and  the  food  it  offers  :  first,  those  of  the 
tide-waters,  of  the  river  channels,  bayous,  and  sluggish 
waters  near  them,  or  in  the"  flat  lands  near  the  coast; 
second,  those  of  the  river  channels  of  its  upper  course, 


9O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES, 

where  the  currents  are  more  distinct ;  third,  those  of 
the  creeks  of  the  hill  country ;  fourth,  those  of  the 
elevated  mountain  streams  which  are  subject  to  falls  and 
rapids." 

Farther  on  in  the  same  paper,  Professor  Cope 
reaches  two  important  general  conclusions,  thus 
stated  by  him :  — 

"  I.  That  species  not  generally  distributed  exist  in  wa- 
ters on  different  sides  of  the  great  water-shed. 

"  II.  That  the  distribution  of  the  species  is  not  gov- 
erned by  the  outlet  of  the  rivers,  streams  having  similar 
discharges  (Holston  and  Kanawha,  Roanoke  and  Susque- 
hanna)  having  less  in  common  than  others  having  differ- 
ent outlets  (Kanawha,  or  Susquehanna  and  James). 

"  In  view  of  the  first  proposition,  and  the  question  of 
the  origin  of  species,  the  possibility  of  an  original  or  sub- 
sequent mingling  of  the  fresh  waters  suggests  itself  as 
more  probable  than  that  of  distinct  origin  in  the  different 
basins." 

Two  questions  in  this  connection  are  raised  by 
Professor  Cope.  The  first  question  is  this  :  "  Has 
any  destruction  of  the  river  faunae  taken  place 
since  the  first  elevation  of  the  Alleghanies,  when 
the  same  species  were  thrown  into  waters  flowing 
in  opposite  directions?"  Of  such  destruction  by 
submergence  or  otherwise,  Professor  Cope  finds 
no  evidence.  The  second  question  is,  "  Has  any 
means  of  communication  existed,  at  any  time,  but 
especially  since  the  last  submergence,  by  which 
the  transfer  of  species  might  occur?"  Some 
evidence  of  such  transfer  exists  in  the  wide  dis- 
tribution of  certain  species,  especially  those  which 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       91 

seek  the  highest  streamlets  in  the  mountains ;  but 
except  to  call  attention  to  the  cavernous  character 
of  the  Subcarboniferous  and  Devonian  limestones, 
Professor  Cope  has  made  little  attempt  to  account 
for  it. 

Professor  Cope  finally  concludes  with  this  im- 
portant generalization :  — 

"It  would  appear,  from  the  previous  considerations, 
that  the  distribution  of  fresh-water  fishes  is  governed  by 
laws  similar  to  those  controlling  terrestrial  vertebrates  and 
other  animals,  in  spite  of  the  seemingly  confined  nature  of 
their  habitat." 

Dr.  Giinther1  has  well  summarized  some  of  the 
known  facts  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  dispersion 
of  fishes :  — 

"  The  ways  in  which  the  dispersal  of  fresh-water  fishes 
has  been  effected  were  various.  They  are  probably  all 
still  in  operation,  but  most  work  so  slowly  and  imper- 
ceptibly as  to  escape  direct  observation ;  perhaps  they 
will  be  more  conspicuous  after  science  and  scientific 
inquiry  shall  have  reached  a  somewhat  greater  age. 
From  the  great  number  of  fresh-water  forms  which  we 
see  at  this  present  day  acclimatized  in,  gradually  accli- 
matizing themselves  in,  or  periodically  or  sporadically  mi- 
grating into,  the  sea,  we  must  conclude  that  under  certain 
circumstances  salt  water  may  cease  to  be  a  barrier  at 
some  period  of  the  existence  of  fresh-water  species,  and 
that  many  of  them  have  passed,  from  one  river  through 
salt  water  into  another.  Secondly,  the  head-waters  of 
some  of  the  grandest  rivers,  the  mouths  of  which  are  at 
opposite  ends  of  the  continents  which  they  drain,  are 
sometimes  distant  from  each  other  a  few  miles  only.  The 

1  Guide  to  the  Study  of  Fishes,  1880,  p.  211. 


92  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

intervening  space  may  have  been  easily  bridged  over  for 
the  passage  of  fishes  by  a  slight  geological  change  affect- 
ing the  level  of  the  water-shed  or  even  by  temporary 
floods ;  and  a  communication  of  this  kind,  if  existing  for 
a  limited  period  only,  would  afford  the  ready  means  of  an 
exchange  of  a  number  of  species  previously  peculiar  to 
one  or  the  other  of  these  river  or  lake  systems.  Some 
fishes  provided  with  gill-openings  so  narrow  that  the 
water  moistening  the  gills  cannot  readily  evaporate,  and 
endowed,  besides,  with  an  extraordinary  degree  of  vitality, 
like  many  Siluroids  (Clarias,  Callichthys),  Eels,  etc.,  are 
enabled  to  wander  for  some  distance  over  land,  and  may 
thus  reach  a  water-course  leading  them  thousands  of 
miles  from  their  original  home.  Finally,  fishes  or  their 
ova  may  be  accidentally  carried  by  water-spouts,  by 
aquatic  birds  or  insects,  to  considerable  distances." 

A  somewhat  detailed  statement  of  the  known 
facts,  arranged  in  the  form  of  twenty-eight  propo- 
sitions, was  given  by  me  in  iS/S.1  To  these  some 
further  data  were  added  in  a  paper  by  Professor 
Gilbert  and  myself  on  the  fishes  of  Arkansas  and 
Texas,2  published  during  the  past  year.  These 
few  memoirs,  four  or  five  in  number,  and  dealing 
chiefly  with  other  things,  give  about  all  that  has 
been  done  in  the  way  of  generalization  on  this 
subject;  and  in  none  of  these  is  the  question  of 
causes  or  methods  in  distribution  dealt  with  in 
detail  or  to  any  important  extent. 

1  On  the  Distribution  of  the  Fishes  of  the  Alleghany  Region,  of 
South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Tennessee,  with  Descriptions  of  new 
or  little-known  Species.     Bull.  U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  xii.  1878,  pp.  91- 

95- 

2  List  of  Fishes  collected  in  Arkansas,  Indian  Territory,  and 
Texas,  in  September,  1884,  with  Notes  and  Descriptions.    Proc. 
U.  S.  Nat.  Mus.,  1886,  pp.  1-25. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES. 


93 


We  now  recognize  about  six  hundred  species1 
of  fishes  as  found  in  the  fresh  waters  of  North 

1  The  table  below  shows  approximately  the  composition  of  the 
fresh-water  fish-fauna  of  Europe,  as  compared  with  that  of  North 
America  north  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer.  (See  a  review  of  Seeley's 
"Fresh  Water  Fishes  of  Europe,"  The  Dial,  Chicago,  June, '86,  p.  35.) 

FAMILIES.  EUROPE.        N.   AMERICA. 

Lamprey      ....  Petromyzontidce     .     .  3  species.     8  species. 

Paddle-fish  ....  Polyodontidce    ...  —  "  i  " 

Sturgeon      ....  Acipcnseridce    .     .     .  10  '  6  " 

Gar-pike     ....  Lepisosteida      ...  —  '  3  " 

Bow-fin Ami  at  idee     ....  —  '  I  " 

Cat-fish Siluridce      .     .     .     .  i  '  25  " 

Sucker Catostomidce     ...  —  '  51  " 


Loach Cobitidce  .     .     . 

Carp Cyprinidce    .     . 

Characin      ....  Characinidce    . 

Moon-eye    ....  Hiodontidce  . 

Herring Clupeidce 

Gizzard-shad    .     .     .  Dorosomida 

Salmon Salmonidce  . 

Trout-perch      .     .     .  Pcrcopsidce  .     . 

Blind-fish    ....  Amblyopsid<&    . 

Killifish Cyprinodontidce 

Mud-minnow    .     .     .  Umbrida     .     . 

Pike  .                         ,  Esocida  . 


230 
i 
3 
5 
i 

28 
i 

5 

52 

5 


Alaska  Black-fish .     .  Dalliidas      .     .     .     .—  "  i 

Eel Angtiillidcc       ...     2  "  i 

Stickleback ....  Gasterosteidee   ...    3  "  7 

Silverside    ....  Atherinida  ....     2  "  2 

Pirate  Perch     .     .     .  Aphredoderidce      .     .  —  "  i 

Elassoma     ....  Elassomida      ...  —  "  2 

Sun-fish Centrarchidce    ...  —  "  37 

Perch Percidce n  "  72 

Bass Serranidce  .     .     .     .     i  u  4 

Drum Sci(enid<c      ....  —  "  I 

Surf-fish Embiotocidce     ...  —  "  i 

Cichlid CicMida —  "  2 

Goby Gobiidce 2  "  6 

Sculpin   .....  Cottid<z 2  "  21         " 

Blenny Blcnniida    ....     3  "  —        " 

Cod Gadida: i  "  i         " 

Flounder     ....  Plcuronectidee  .     .     .     i  "  —        " 

Sole Soleidte i  "  i         " 

Total:  Europe,  21  families  ;  126  species.    North  America,  34  families; 

587  species. 

According  to  Dr.  Giinther  (Guide  to  the  Study  of  Fishes,  p. 

243),  the  total  number  of  species  now  known  from  the  temperate 


94  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

America,  north  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  these 
representing  thirty-four  of  the  natural  families. 
As  to  their  habits,  we  can  divide  these  species 
rather  roughly  into  the  four  categories  pro- 
posed by  Professor  Cope,  or,  as  we  may  call 
them,  — 

(1)  Lowland    fishes;     as    the   Bow-fin,1    Pirate 
Perch,2  large-mouthed  Black  Bass,3  Sun-fishes  and 
some  Cat-fishes. 

(2)  Channel-fishes  ;    as   the    Channel    Cat-fish,4 
the    Moon-eye,5     Gar-pike,6     Buffalo-fishes,7    and 
Drum.8 

(3)  Upland    fishes;    as    many   of    the   Darters, 
Shiners    and     Suckers,    and    the    small-mouthed 
Black  Bass.9 

(4)  Mountain-fishes;   as  the  Brook  Trout,  and 
many  of  the  Darters  and  Minnows. 

To  these  we  may  add  the  more  or  less  distinct 
classes  of  (5)  Lake-fishes,  inhabiting  only  waters 
which  are  deep,  clear,  and  cold,  as  the  various  spe- 
cies of  White-fish 10  and  the  Great  Lake  Trout;11 

regions  of  Asia  and  Europe  is  about  360.  The  fauna  of  India, 
south  of  the  Himalayas,  is  much  more  extensive,  numbering  625 
species.  This  latter  fauna  bears  little  resemblance  to  that  of 
North  America,  being  wholly  tropical  in  its  character. 

1  Amiatus  calvus  Linnaeus. 

2  Aphredoderus  sayanus  Gilliams. 
8  Micropterus  salmoidcs  Lacepede. 

4  Ictalurus  punctattis  Rafinesque. 

5  Hiodon  tergisus  Le  Sueur. 

6  Lepisosteus  osseus  Linnaeus. 

7  Ictiobus  bubahis,  cyprinella,  etc. 

8  Aplodinotus grunnien s  Rafinesque. 

9  Microptertis  dolomicu  Lacepede. 

•W  Coregonus  clupeiforinis,  artedi,  etc. 
i1  Salvelinus  nciniayctish  VValbaum. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       95 

(6)  Anadromous  fishes,  or  those  which  run   up 
from  the   sea   to   spawn    in    fresh  waters,   as   the 
Salmon,1    Sturgeon,2   Shad,3   and    Striped    Bass ; 4 

(7)  Catadromous  fishes,  like  the  Eel,5  which  pass 
down  to  spawn  in  the  sea ;  and  (8)  brackish-water 
fishes,  which  thrive  best  in  the  debatable  waters 
of  the  river-mouths,  as  most  of  the  Sticklebacks 
and  the  Killifishes. 

As  regards  the  range  of  species,  we  have  every 
possible  gradation  from  those  which  seem  to  be 
confined  to  a  single  river,  and  are  rare  even  in 
their  restricted  habitat,  to  those  which  are  in  a 
measure  cosmopolitan,6  ranging  everywhere  in 
suitable  waters. 

Still,  again,  we  have  all  degrees  of  constancy  and 
inconstancy  in  what  we  regard  as  the  characters 
of  a  species.  Those  found  only  in  a  single  river- 
basin  are  usually  uniform  enough ;  but  the  species 
having  a  wide  range  usually  vary  much  in  different 
localities.  Such  variations  have  at  different  times 
been  taken  to  be  the  indications  of  as  many  differ- 
ent species.  Continued  explorations  bring  to  light, 
from  year  to  year,  new  species ;  but  the  number  of 
new  forms  now  discovered  each  year  is  usually  less 
than  the  number  of  recognized  species  which  are 
yearly  proved  to  be  intenable.  Three  complete 
lists  of  the  fresh-water  fishes  of  the  United  States 


1  Salmo  salar  Linnaeus.  2  Acipenser,  sp. 

3  Clupea  sapidissima  Wilson.  4  Morone  lineata  Bloch. 

6  Angiiilla  anguilla  Linnaeus. 

6  Thus  the  Chub-sucker  (Erimyzon  sucetta)  in  some  of  its  varie- 
ties ranges  everywhere  from  Maine  to  Dakota,  Florida,  and  Texas  ; 
while  a  number  of  other  species  are  scarcely  less  widely  distributed. 


96  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

have  been  published  by  the  present  writer.  That 
of  Jordan  and  Copeland,1  published  in  1876,  enu- 
merates 670  species.  That  of  Jordan2  in  1878 
contains  665  species,  and  that  of  Jordan3  in  1885, 
587  species,  although  upwards  of  75  new  species 
were  detected  in  the  nine  years  which  elapsed  be- 
tween the  first  and  the  last  list.  Additional  spe- 
cimens from  intervening  localities  are  often  found 
to  form  connecting  links  among  the  nominal  spe- 
cies, and  thus  several  supposed  species  become 
in  time  merged  in  one.  Thus  the  Common  Chan- 
nel Cat-fish4  of  our  rivers  has  been  described  as 
a  new  species  not  less  than  twenty-five  times,  on 
account  of  differences  real  or  imaginary,  but  com- 
paratively trifling  in  value. 

Where  species  can  readily  migrate,  their  uniform- 
ity is  preserved ;  but  whenever  a  form  becomes 
localized  its  representatives  assume  some  charac- 
ters not  shared  by  the  species  as  a  whole.  When 
we  can  trace,  as  we  often  can,  the  disappearance  by 
degrees  of  these  characters,  such  forms  no  longer 
represent  to  us  distinct  species.  In  cases  where 
the  connecting  forms  are  extinct,  or  at  least 
not  represented  in  collections,  each  form  which  is 

1  Check  List  of  the  Fishes  of  the  Fresh  Waters  of  North  Amer- 
ica, by  David  S.  Jordan  and  Herbert  E.  Copeland.     Bulletin  of  the 
Buffalo  Society  of  Natural  History,  1876,  pp.  133-164. 

2  A  Catalogue  of  the  Fishes  of  the  Fresh  Waters  of  North 
America.     Bulletin  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  1878, 
pp.  407-442. 

3  A  Catalogue  of  the  Fishes  known  to  inhabit  the  Waters  of 
North  America  North  of  the  Tropic  of  Cancer.     Annual  Report 
of  the  Commissioners  of  Fish  and  Fisheries  for  1884  and  1885= 

4  Ictalurus  punctatus  Rafmesque. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.       97 

apparently  different  must  be  regarded  as  a  distinct 
species. 

The  variations  in  any  type  become,  in  general, 
more  marked  as  we  approach  the  tropics.  The 
genera  are  represented,  on  the  whole,  by  more 
species  there,  and  it  would  appear  that  the  pro- 
cesses of  specific  change  go  on  more  rapidly  under 
the  easier  conditions  of  life  in  the  Torrid  Zone. 

We  recognize  now  in  North  America  twenty-five 
distinct  species  of  fresh-water  Cat-fishes,1  although 
nearly  a  hundred  (93)  nominal  species  of  these 
fishes  have  been  from  time  to  time  described. 
But  these  twenty-five  species  are  among  them- 
selves very  closely  related,  and  all  of  them  are 
subject  to  a  variety  of  minor  changes.  It  requires 
no  strong  effort  of  the  imagination  to  see  in  them 
all  the  modified  descendants  of  some  one  species 
of  Cat-fish,  not  unlike  our  Common  "  Bull-head,2 
—  an  immigrant  probably  from  Asia,  and  which 
has  now  adjusted  itself  to  its  surroundings  in  each 
of  our  myriad  of  Cat-fish  breeding  streams. 

The  word  "  species,"  then,  is  simply  a  term  of 
convenience,  including  such  members  of  a  group 
similar  to  each  other  as  are  tangibly  different 
from  others,  and  are  not  known  to  be  connected 
with  these  by  intermediate  forms.  Such  connect- 
ing links  we  may  suppose  to  have  existed  in  all 
cases.  We  are  only  sure  that  they  do  not  now 
exist  in  our  collections,  so  far  as  these  have  been 
carefully  studied. 

When  two  or  more  species  of  any  genus  now 
inhabit  the  same  waters,  they  are  usually  species 

1  Silnridcz.  2  Amdurus  ntbulosus. 

7 


98  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

whose  differentiation  is  of  long  standing,  —  species, 
therefore,  which  can  be  readily  distinguished  from 
one  another.  When,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have 
"  representative  species,"  —  closely  related  forms, 
neither  of  which  is  found  within  the  geographical 
range  of  the  other,  —  we  can  with  some  confidence 
look  for  intermediate  forms  where  the  territory 
occupied  by  the  one  bounds  that  inhabited  by  the 
other.  In  very  many  such  cases  the  intermediate 
forms  have  been  found ;  and  such  forms  are  con- 
sidered as  sub-species  of  one  species,  the  one 
being  regarded  as  the  parent  stock,  the  other 
as  an  offshoot  due  to  the  influences  of  differ- 
ent environment.  Then,  besides  these  "  species  " 
and  "  sub-species,"  groups  more  or  less  readily 
recognizable,  there  are  varieties  and  variations  of 
every  grade,  often  too  ill-defined  to  receive  any 
sort  of  name,  but  still  not  without  significance  to 
the  student  of  the  origin  of  species.  Comparing  a 
dozen  fresh  specimens  of  almost  any  kind  of  fish 
from  any  body  of  water  with  an  equal  number 
from  somewhere  else,  one  will  rarely  fail  to  find 
some  sort  of  differences,  —  in  size,  in  form,  in  color. 
These  differences  are  obviously  the  reflex  of  dif- 
ferences in  the  environment,  and  the  collector  of 
fishes  seldom  fails  to  recognize  them  as  such ; 
often  it  is  not  difficult  to  refer  the  effect  to  the 
conditions.  Thus,  fishes  from  grassy  bottoms  are 
darker  than  those  taken  from  over  sand,  and 
those  from  a  bottom  of  muck  are  darker  still, 
the  shade  of  color  being,  in  some  way  not  well 
understood,  dependent  on  the  color  of  the  sur- 
roundings. Fishes  in  large  bodies  of  water  reach 


DISPERSION  OF  FRES PI-WATER  FI SPIES.       99 

a  larger  size  than  the  same  species  in  smaller 
streams  or  ponds.  Fishes  from  foul  or  sediment- 
laden  waters  are  paler  in  color  and  slenderer  in 
form  than  those  from  waters  which  are  clear  and 
pure.  Again,  it  is  often  true  that  specimens  from 
northern  waters  are  less  slender  in  body  than  those 
from  farther  south;  and  so  on.  Other  things  be- 
ing equal,  the  more  remote  the  localities  from  each 
other,  the  greater  are  these  differences. 

In  our  fresh-water  fishes  each  species  on  an 
average  has  been  described  as  new  from  three  to 
four  times,  on  account  of  minor  variations,  real  or 
supposed.  In  Europe,  where  the  fishes  have  been 
studied  longer  and  by  more  different  men,  upwards 
of  six  or  eight  nominal  species  have  been  described 
for  each  one  that  is  now  considered  distinct. 

It  is  evident,  from  these  and  other  facts,  that  the 
idea  of  a  separate  creation  for  each  species  of  fishes 
in  each  river  basin,  as  entertained  by  Agassiz,  is 
wholly  incompatible  with  our  present  knowledge 
of  the  specific  distinctions  or  of  the  geographical 
distribution  of  fishes.  This  is  an  unbroken  grada- 
tion in  the  variations  from  the  least  to  the  greatest, 
—  from  the  peculiarities  of  the  individual,  through 
local  varieties,  geographical  sub-species,  species, 
sub-genera,  genera,  families,  super-families,  and  so 
on,  until  all  fish-like  vertebrates  are  included  in  a 
single  bond  of  union. 

It  is,  however,  evident  that  not  all  American 
types  of  fishes  had  their  origin  in  America,  or  even 
first  assumed  in  America  their  present  forms. 
Some  of  these  are  perhaps  immigrants  from 
northern  Asia,  where  they  still  have  their  nearest 


IOO  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

relatives.  Still  others  are  evidently  modified  im- 
portations from  the  sea;  and  of  these  some  are 
very  recent  immigrants,  landlocked  species  which 
have  changed  very  little  from  the  parent  stock. 

The  character  and  possible  origin  of  each  of  the 
thirty-four  families  of  North  American  fresh-water 
fishes  may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows :  — 

The  Lampreys  are  evidently  of  marine  origin,  as 
the  marine  species  are  still  anadromous.  The 
fresh-water  species,  compared  with  the  marine 
ones,  are  smaller  in  size  and  weaker  in  organiza- 
tion, and  represent  larval  conditions  or  arrests  of 
development  of  the  latter  form. 

The  Paddle-fish  is  allied  to  extinct  ganoid  types. 
The  group  is  now  represented  by  one  species  in 
America  and  another  in  central  Asia. 

The  Sturgeons,  like  the  Lampreys,  are  anadro- 
mous. But  two  of  the  American  species  are  now- 
confined  to  the  fresh  waters,  and  one  of  these  be- 
longs to  a  peculiar  genus  {ScaphirJiynchus),  which 
(like  Polyodoit)  has  representatives  also  in  central 
Asia.  As  to  whether  the  parent  stock  in  either 
case  is  American  or  Asiatic,  I  know  of  no  positive 
evidence. 

The  Gar-pikes  and  the  Bow-fins  are  strictly 
American  types  allied  to  extinct  ganoid  forms, 
and  doubtless  developed  from  such  in  the  waters 
they  now  inhabit. 

The  Cat-fishes  of  America  are  all  probably  de- 
scendants of  a  common  stock,  not  allied  to  South 
American  forms,  but  probably  finding  its  nearest 
relatives  in  India.  A  single  species  of  this  type 
now  exists  in  China  (Amemrus  cantoncnsis) ;  but 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     IOI 

this  is  perhaps  a  returned  emigrant  from  America, 
rather  than  a  direct  offshoot  of  the  parent  stock. 

The  Suckers  are  modified  Cyprinidce,  probably 
developed  originally  in  America,  although  one 
species  has  spread  from  Alaska  to  Siberia,  and 
another  very  peculiar  form  exists  in  China.  What- 
ever its  origin,  this  group  is  now  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  of  our  fauna. 

The  Cyprinidce  of  western  America  are  more  or 
less  closely  related  to  Old  World  types,  and  some 
of  them,  like  the  Old  World  species,  reach  a  great 
size.  East  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  found  a 
multitude  of  species,  mostly  of  small  size  and 
weak  organization,  which  seem  to  be  degenerate 
or  reduced  representatives  of  Old  World  types, 
and  which  have  for  the  most  part  no  immediate 
relatives  among  the  latter.  The  majority  of  these 
species  are  now  placed  in  a  single  genus,  Notropis, 
which  is  found  only  in  America,  and  is  one  of  the 
most  characteristic  of  our  fish-fauna. 

The  Characins  belong  to  the  tropics,  especially 
to  South  America.  The  single  species  which 
crosses  the  Rio  Grande  is  doubtless  an  immigrant 
from  Mexico.  The  same  remarks  apply  also  to 
the  CichlidS)  —  a  group  especially  characteristic  of 
tropical  America,  one  species  of  which  reaches 
southern  Texas. 

The  Moon-eyes  are  characteristically  American 
type,  with  no  near  relatives  elsewhere  in  the  world. 
Their  ancestors  were  probably  immigrants  from 
the  sea. 

The  Herring  permanently  resident  in  our  fresh 
waters  are  simply  landlocked  representatives  of 


IO2  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

species  still  found  in  the  sea  along  our  coasts. 
Other  species  are  anadromous,  ascending  the  rivers 
in  the  spring. 

The  Gizzard-shad  is  indifferently  marine,  anad- 
romous, or  landlocked,  and  is  still  extending  its 
range  in  sluggish  waters  through  the  agency  of 
canals. 

The  various  forms  of  Salmonidce  abound  in  the 
streams  and  lakes  of  all  northern  regions.  The  larger 
species  are  marine  and  anadromous,  the  smaller 
confined  to  lakes  and  brooks ;  but  all  seek  streams 
or  at  least  shallower  waters  for  the  purpose  of 
spawning.  The  whole  group  had  probably  a  ma- 
rine origin ;  the  more  strictly  fresh-water  species 
being,  as  is  usually  the  case,  smaller  in  size,  weaker 
in  organization,  and  with  feebler  dentition.  It  is 
often  assumed  that  this  group  has  had  its  origin 
in  the  Atlantic;  but  whether  in  America  or  in 
Europe,  we  have  no  means  of  inferring. 

The  Trout-perch  show  a  curious  combination  of 
characters  of  spiny  and  soft-rayed  fishes.  The  sin- 
gle species  is  probably,  as  suggested  by  Agassiz,  a 
relic  of  an  ancient  fauna. 

The  Blind-fisJies  are  also  very  unique  in  their 
organization.  Two  of  the  known  species  have 
well-developed  eyes,  and  live  in  lowland  streams 
and  springs.  Such  are  doubtless  ancestors  of  the 
eyeless  forms  of  the  cave  streams,  but  the  imme- 
diate progenitors  and  relatives  of  these  seem  to  be 
extinct.  They  were  probably  fresh-water  rather 
than  marine  forms,  and  of  the  same  general  stock 
as  the  ancestors  of  the  Killifishes,  Mud-minnows, 
and  Pike. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     103 

The  Killifishes  have  their  greatest  abundance  in 
tropical  America,  which  is  perhaps  the  place  of 
their  origin.  They  are  especially  fishes  of  the 
brackish  waters,  rarely  going  far  out  to  sea. 
Some  of  them  ascend  streams;  and  these  fre- 
quent spring  waters,  and  waters  which  are  clear 
and  cold. 

The  two  species  of  Mud-minnow  are  now  very 
widely  separated  as  to  habitat,  although  very  simi- 
lar to  each  other  in  structure.  The  one  belongs 
properly  to  our  Great  Lake  Fauna,  the  other  to 
the  streams  of  Austria.  The  two  are  probably  re- 
mains of  a  past  fauna,  in  which  the  group  was 
more  fully  represented.  Our  Mud-minnow 1  is  one 
of  the  most  tenacious  of  life  of  all  our  fishes,  and 
will  often  live  for  weeks  in  damp  muck  after  the 
waters  of  a  pond  have  evaporated. 

Of  the  five  known  species  of  Pike,  one  is  cos- 
mopolitan, being  spread  over  northern  Asia  and 
Europe  as  well  as  America,  while  the  other  species 
are  somewhat  restricted  in  their  range.  The  Com- 
mon Pike  2  is  probably  the  parent  stock  of  all ;  but 
whether  originally  American  or  not,  we  cannot 
say.  The  affinities  of  the  Mud-minnow  with  the 
Pike  are  not  remote,  and  doubtless  forms  between 
the  two  have  existed. 

The  Black-fish*  of  Alaska  is  another  relative  of 
the  Mud-minnow  and  Pike.  The  single  known 
species  is  found  in  Alaska  and  eastern  Siberia. 
It  too  is  probably  an  isolated  relic  of  a  disap- 
pearing group. 

1  Umbra  limi  Kirtland.  2  Esox  lucins  Linnaeus. 

8  Dallia  pectoralis  Bean. 


104  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

The  Common  Eel1  is  more  or  less  regularly 
catadromous.  It  is  doubtless  of  marine  origin ; 
and  the  same  species  is  widely  diffused  in  America 
and  Europe,  though  curiously  wanting  on  our 
Pacific  coasts,  as  well  as  in  South  America. 

The  Sticklebacks  and  the  Silversides  are  sea- 
shore fishes,  the  former  of  cold,  the  latter  of  warm 
regions.  Some  species  of  both  are  now  permanent 
residents  in  fresh  water.  The  Sticklebacks  espe- 
cially show  all  degrees  of  transition,  the  strictly 
fluviatile  forms  being  as  usual  smaller  in  size  and 
weaker  in  armature  than  the  marine  ones. 

The  Pirate  Perches  and  the  Elassoma  are  two 
very  small  families,  related  to  each  other,  and 
distantly  related  perhaps  to  the  Sun-fishes.  They 
are  probably  remains  of  some  older  fauna,  and  are 
possibly  allied  to  the  Berycoids  ;  but  this  relation, 
if  real,  is  not  very  close. 

The  Sun-fishes  are  peculiarly  North  American, 
nothing  similar  being  found  in  any  other  region. 
Their  ancestry  is  probably  to  be  sought  among 
the  marine  Serranidcz,  the  large-mouthed  Black 
Bass2  being  probably  the  member  of  the  former 
group  nearest  the  parent  stock. 

The  fresh-water  (striped)  Bass*  are  evidently 
allied  to  the  anadromous  members  of  the  same 
group. 

The  Perch  family  is  perhaps  originally  an  off- 
shoot from  the  Sea  Bass.  It  has,  however,  re- 
ceived a  peculiar  development  in  American  waters. 

1  Anguilla  anguilla  Linnaeus. 

2  Microptcrus  salmoides  Lacepede. 

8  Morone  chrysops,  mississippiensis,  etc. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     1 05 

The  large  group  or  genus  of  Darters l  is  com- 
posed of  small,  brilliantly  colored  Perches,  whose 
structure  is  especially  adapted  for  life  on  the 
rocky  bottoms  of  small  clear  streams.  The  re- 
lations of  these  species  to  the  typical  Perches 
have  been  admirably  discussed  by  Professor  S.  A. 
Forbes,  from  whose  paper2  I  make  the  following 
quotations :  — 

"  We  must  inquire,  therefore,  into  the  causes  which  have 
operated  on  a  group  of  Percoids  to  limit  their  range  to 
such  apparently  unfavorable  conditions,  to  diminish  their 
size,  to  develop  unduly  the  paired  fins  and  reduce  the 
air-bladder,  to  remove  the  scales  of  several  species  more 
or  less  completely,  .  .  .  and  to  restrict  their  food  chiefly 
to  a  few  forms  [of  insect-larvae  and  Crustacea]. 

"  No  species  can  long  maintain  itself  anywhere  which 
cannot  in  some  way  find  a  sufficient  supply  of  food  and 
also  protect  itself  against  its  enemies.  In  its  contests 
with  its  enemies  it  may  acquire  defensive  structures  or 
powers  of  escape  sufficient  for  its  protection,  or  it  may 
become  adapted  to  some  place  of  refuge  where  other 
fishes  will  not  follow.  What  better  refuge  could  a  har- 
assed fish  desire  than  the  hiding-places  among  stones  in 
the  shallows  of  a  stream  where  the  water  dashes  cease- 
lessly by  with  a  swiftness  few  fish  can  stem  ?  And  if  at 
the  same  time  the  refugee  develop  a  swimming  power 
which  enables  it  to  dart  like  a  flash  against  the  strongest 
current,  its  safety  would  seem  to  be  insured.  But  what 
food  could  it  find  in  such  a  place  ?  Let  us  turn  over  the 
stones  in  such  a  stream,  sweeping  the  roiled  water  at  the 
same  time  with  a  small  cloth  net,  and  we  shall  find  larva 

*  Etheostoma. 

2  A  Catalogue  of  the  Native  Fishes  of  Illinois.  Report  of  thr 
Illinois  Fish  Commissioners,  1884,  p.  95. 


IO6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

of  Chironomus  and  small  Ephemerids,  and  other  such 
prey  and  little  else,  —  food  too  minute  and  difficult  of 
access  to  support  a  large  fish,  but  answering  very  well  if 
our  immigrant  can  keep  down  his  size.  .  .  .  The  limited 
supply  of  food  early  arrests  the  growth  of  the  young; 
while  every  fish  which  passes  the  allowable  maximum  is 
forced  for  food  to  brave  the  dangers  of  the  deeper  waters, 
where  the  chances  are  that  it  falls  a  prey.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  smaller  the  size  of  those  which  escape  this 
alternative,  the  less  likely  will  they  be  to  attract  the  appe- 
tite of  the  small  gar  or  other  guerilla,  which  may  occa- 
sionally raid  their  retreat,  and  the  more  easily  will  they 
slip  about  under  stones  in  search  of  their  microscopic 
game. 

"  Like  other  fishes,  the  darters  must  have  their  periods 
of  repose,  all  the  more  urgent  because  of  the  constant 
struggle  with  the  swift  current  which  their  habitat  im- 
poses. Shut  out  from  the  deep,  still  pools  and  slow 
eddies  where  the  larger  species  lurk,  they  are  forced  to 
spend  their  leisure  on  or  beneath  the  bottom  of  the 
stream,  resting  on  their  extended  ventrals  and  anal,  or 
wholly  buried  in  the  sand.  .  .  . 

"  Doubtless  the  search  for  food  has  much  to  do  with 
this  selection  in  a  habitat.  I  have  found  that  the  young 
of  nearly  all  species  of  our  fresh-water  fishes  are  com- 
petitors for  food,  feeding  almost  entirely  on  Entomostraca 
and  the  larvae  of  minute  Diptera.  As  a  tree  sends  out  its 
roots  in  all  directions  in  search  of  nourishment,  so  each  of 
the  larger  divisions  of  animals  extends  its  various  groups 
into  every  place  where  available  food  occurs,  each  group 
becoming  adapted  to  the  special  features  of  its  situation. 
Given  this  supply  of  certain  kinds  of  food,  nearly  inacces- 
sible to  the  ordinary  fish,  it  is  to  be  expected  that  some 
fishes  would  become  especially  fitted  to  its  utilization. 
Thus  the  Etheostomatina  [Darters]  as  a  group  are  to  be 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     IO/ 

explained,  in  a  word,  by  the  hypothesis  of  the  progressive 
adaptation  of  the  young  of  certain  Percidcz  to  a  peculiar 
place  of  refuge  and  a  peculiar  food-supply. 

"  Perhaps  we  may,  without  violence,  call  these  the 
mountaineers  among  fishes.  Forced  from  the  populous 
and  fertile  valleys  of  the  river  beds  and  lake  bottoms,  they 
have  taken  refuge  from  their  enemies  in  the  rocky  high- 
lands, where  the  free  waters  play  in  ceaseless  torrents,  and 
there  they  have  wrested  from  stubborn  Nature  a  meagre 
living.  Although  diminished  in  size  by  their  continual 
struggle  with  the  elements,  they  have  developed  an  ac- 
tivity and  hardihood,  a  vigor  of  life,  and  glow  of  high 
color  almost  unknown  among  the  easier  livers  of  the  lower 
lands." 

It  is  noteworthy  that  among  the  European  gen- 
era of  Percidce,  one  of  them,  Aspro,  has  assumed 
a  similar  habitat,  and  adapted  —  apparently  as  a 
result  of  its  surroundings  —  characters  similar  to 
those  of  Etheostoma.  It  is  not  likely  that  Aspro  is 
an  ancestor  of  Etheostoma,  still  less  likely  that  A s- 
pro  is  descended  from  the  latter  genus.  The  simi- 
lar development  of  the  two  seems  rather  a  case  of 
analogous  variation,  the  influence  of  similar  condi- 
tions in  different  places  on  similar  organisms. 

It  is  remarkable,  also,  that  in  mountain  regions 
in  which  no  Percidce  are  found,  fishes  very  similar 
to  the  Darters  in  appearance  and  habits,  though 
totally  different  in  structure,  have  by  analogous 
agencies  been  developed.  Loaches,  Cat-fishes, 
Gobies,  Characins,  Sculpins,  in  different  parts  of 
the  world  inhabit  swift  mountain  streams,  and  in 
a  similar  way  become  dwarfed  and  concentrated, 
taking  the  place  in  their  respective  habitats  which 


108  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

the  Darters  occupy  in  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley. 

By  the  same  process  of  "  analogous  variation  " 
the  Cichlidce  of  South  America  parallel  the  Sun- 
fishes  of  the  United  States,  although  in  structure 
and  in  origin  the  two  groups  are  diverse. 

The  single  species  each  of  Dmm}  Surf-fish?  and 
Cod^  found  in  our  fresh  waters  are  evidently  immi- 
grants from  the  sea,  although  not  of  recent  origin. 
The  several  species  of  Sculpin  have  apparently 
come  from  two  separate  marine  stocks,  —  the  one 
(Coitus]  comparatively  ancient  and  probably  origi- 
nating in  the  Pacific,  the  other  {Triglopsis}  more 
modern  and  descended  from  an  Atlantic  species 
(Acanthocottus  quadricornis,  L.).  The  former  type 
is  now  diffused  in  all  cold  waters  of  North  Amer- 
ica, Europe,  and  northern  Asia.  The  latter  be- 
longs only  to  the  depths  of  the  Great  Lakes. 

The  Flounders  and  Soles  when  found  in  fresh 
waters  are  merely  temporary  sojourners  from  the 
sea. 

We  can  say,  in  general,  that  in  all  waters  not 
absolutely  uninhabitable  there  are  fishes.  The 
processes  of  natural  selection  have  given  to  each 
kind  of  river  or  lake  species  of  fishes  adapted  to 
the  conditions  of  life  which  obtain  there.  There 
is  no  condition  of  water,  of  bottom,  of  depth,  of 
speed  of  current,  but  finds  some  species  with 
characters  adjusted  to  it.  These  adjustments  are, 
for  the  most  part,  of  long  standing;  and  the  fauna 

1  Aplodi 'notus  grunnien s  Rafinesque. 

2  Hysterocarpus  traski  Gibbons. 

3  Lota  lota  Linnaeus. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     1 09 

of  any  single  stream  has,  as  a  rule,  been  produced 
by  immigration  from  other  regions  or  from  other 
streams.  Each  species  has  an  ascertainable  range 
of  distribution,  and  within  this  range  we  may 
be  reasonably  certain  to  find  it  in  any  suitable 
waters. 

But  every  species  has  beyond  question  some 
sort  of  limit  to  its  distribution,  some  sort  of  bar- 
rier which  it  has  never  passed  in  all  the  years  of 
its  existence.  That  this  is  true  becomes  evident 
when  we  compare  the  fish-faunae  of  widely  sepa- 
rated rivers.  Thus  the  Sacramento,  Connecticut, 
Rio  Grande,  and  St.  John's  Rivers  have  not  a 
single  species  in  common ;  and  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  not  a  species  is  common  to  any  two 
of  them.  None  of  these  1  has  any  species  pecu- 
liar to  itself,  and  each  shares  a  large  part  of  its 
fish-fauna  with  the  water-basin  next  to  it.  It  is 
probably  true  that  the  faunae  of  no  two  distinct 
hydrographic  basins  are  wholly  identical,  while  on 
the  other  hand  there  are  very  few  species  con- 
fined to  a  single  one.  The  supposed  cases  of  this 
character,  some  twenty  in  number,  occur  chiefly 
in  the  streams  of  the  South  Atlantic  States  and  of 
Arizona.  All  of  these  need,  however,  the  confir- 
mation of  further  exploration.  It  is  certain  that 
in  no  case  has  an  entire  river-fauna2  originated 
independently  from  the  divergence  into  separate 
species  of  the  descendants  of  a  single  type. 

The    existence    of  boundaries  to   the  range  of 

1  Except  possibly  the  Sacramento. 

2  Unless  the  fauna  of  certain  cave-streams  in  the  United  States 
and  Cuba  be  regarded  as  forming  an  exception. 


HO  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

species  implies,  therefore,  the  existence  of  barriers 
to  their  diffusion.  We  may  now  consider  these 
barriers,  and,  in  the  same  connection,  the  degree 
to  which  they  may  be  overcome. 

Least  important  of  these  are  the  barriers  which 
may  exist  within  the  limits  of  any  single  basin, 
and  which  tend  to  prevent  a  free  diffusion  through 
its  waters  of  species  inhabiting  any  portion  of  it. 
In  streams  flowing  southward,  or  across  different 
parallels  of  latitude,  the  difference  in  climate  be- 
comes a  matter  of  importance.  The  distribution 
of  species  is  governed  very  largely  by  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  water.  Each  species  has  its  range  in 
this  respect,  —  the  free-swimming  fishes,  notably 
the  Trout,  being  most  affected  by  it;  the  mud- 
loving  or  bottom  fishes,  like  the  Cat-fishes,  least. 
The  latter  can  reach  the  cool  bottoms  in  hot 
weather,  or  the  warm  bottoms  in  cold  weather, 
thus  keeping  their  own  temperature  more  even 
than  that  of  the  surface  of  the  water.  Although 
water-communication  is  perfectly  free  for  most  of 
the  length  of  the  Mississippi,  there  is  a  material 
difference  between  the  faunae  of  the  stream  in 
Minnesota  and  in  Louisiana.  This  difference  is 
caused  chiefly  by  the  difference  in  temperature  oc- 
cupying the  difference  in  latitude.  That  a  similar 
difference  in  longitude,  with  free  water  communi- 
cation, has  no  appreciable  importance,  is  shown 
by  the  almost  absolute  identity  of  the  fish-faunae 
of  Lake  Winnebago  and  Lake  Champlain.  While 
many  large  fishes  range  freely  up  and  down  the 
Mississippi,  a  majority  of  the  species  do  not  do  so, 
and  the  fauna  of  the  upper  Mississippi  has  more  in 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     Ill 

common  with  that  of  the  tributaries  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan than  it  has  with  that  of  the  Red  River  or  the 
Arkansas.  The  influence  of  climate  is  again  shown 
in  the  paucity  of  the  fauna  of  the  cold  waters  of 
Lake  Superior,  as  compared  with  that  of  Lake 
Michigan.  The  majority  of  our  species  cannot 
endure  the  cold.  In  general,  therefore,  cold  or 
Northern  waters  contain  fewer  species  than  South- 
ern waters  do,  though  the  number  of  individuals 
of  any  one  kind  may  be  greater.  This  is  shown 
in  all  waters,  fresh  or  salt.  The  fisheries  of  the 
Northern  seas  are  more  extensive  than  those  of 
the  Tropics.  There  are  more  fishes  there,  but 
they  are  far  less  varied  in  kind.  The  writer 
once  caught  seventy-five  species  of  fishes  in  a 
single  haul  of  the  seine  at  Key  West,  while 
on  Cape  Cod  he  obtained  with  the  same  net 
but  forty-five  species  in  the  course  of  a  week's 
work.  Thus  it  comes  that  the  angler,  contented 
with  many  fishes  of  few  kinds,  goes  to  Northern 
streams  to  fish,  while  the  naturalist  goes  to  the 
South. 

But  in  most  streams  the  difference  in  latitude  is 
insignificant,  and  the  chief  differences  in  tempera- 
ture come  from  differences  in  elevation,  or  from 
the  distance  of  the  waters  from  the  colder  source. 
Often  the  lowland  waters  are  so  different  in  charac- 
ter as  to  produce  a  marked  change  in  the  quality 
of  their  fauna.  These  lowland  waters  may  form  a 
barrier  to  the  free  movements  of  upland  fishes  ;  but 
that  this  barrier  is  not  impassable  is  shown  by 
the  identity  of  the  fishes  in  the  streams1  of  the 

1  For  example,  Elk  River,  Duck  River,  etc. 


112  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

uplands  of  middle  Tennessee  with  those  of  the 
Holston  and  French  Broad.  Again,  streams  of  the 
Ozark  Mountains,  similar  in  character  to  the  rivers 
of  East  Tennessee,  have  an  essentially  similar  fish- 
fauna,  although  between  the  Ozarks  and  the  Cum- 
berland range  lies  an  area  of  lowland  bayous,  into 
which  such  fishes  are  never  known  to  penetrate. 
We  can,  however,  imagine  that  these  upland  fishes 
may  be  sometimes  swept  down  from  one  side  or 
the  other  into  the  Mississippi,  from  which  they 
might  ascend  on  the  other  side.  But  such  trans- 
fers certainly  do  not  often  happen.  This  is  appar- 
ent from  the  fact  that  the  two  faunae l  are  not  quite 
identical,  and  in  some  cases  the  same  species  are 
represented  by  perceptibly  different  varieties  on  one 
side  and  the  other.  The  time  of  the  commingling 
of  these  faunae  is  perhaps  now  past,  and  it  may 
have  occurred  only  when  the  climate  of  the  inter- 
vening regions  was  colder  than  at  present 

The  effect  of  waterfalls  and  cascades  as  a  barrier 
to  the  diffusion  of  most  species  is  self-evident ;  but 
the  importance  of  such  obstacles  is  less,  in  the 
course  of  time,  than  might  be  expected.  In  one 
way  or  another  very  many  species  have  passed 
these  barriers.  The  falls  of  the  Cumberland  limit 

1  There  are  three  species  of  Darters  (Etheostoma  copelandi 
Jordan ;  Etheostoma  evides  Jordan  and  Copeland ;  Etheostoma 
scierum  Swain)  which  are  now  known  only  from  the  Ozark  region 
or  beyond  and  from  the  uplands  of  Indiana,  not  yet  having  been 
found  at  any  point  between  Indiana  and  Missouri.  These  consti- 
tute perhaps  isolated  colonies,  now  separated  from  the  parent 
stock  in  Arkansas  by  the  prairie  districts  of  Illinois,  a  region  at 
present  uninhabitable  for  these  fishes.  But  the  non-occurrence  of 
these  species  over  the  intervening  areas  needs  confirmation,  as  do 
most  similar  cases  of  anomalous  distribution. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     113 

the  range  of  most  of  the  larger  fishes  of  the  river, 
but  the  streams  above  it  have  their  quota  of  Dart- 
ers and  Minnows.  It  is  evident  that  the  past  his- 
tory of  the  stream  must  enter  as  a  factor  into  this 
discussion,  but  this  past  history  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  trace.  Dams  or  artificial  waterfalls 
now  check  the  free  movement  of  many  species, 
especially  those  of  migratory  habits ;  while,  con- 
versely, numerous  other  species  have  extended 
their  range  through  the  agency  of  canals.1 

Every  year  fishes  are  swept  down  the  rivers  by 
the  winter's  floods ;  and  in  the  spring,  as  the  spawn- 
ing season  approaches,  almost  every  species  is 
found  working  its  way  up  the  stream.  In  some 
cases,  notably  the  Quinnat  Salmon2  and  the  Blue- 
back  Salmon,3  the  length  of  these  migrations  is 
surprisingly  great.  To  some  species  rapids  and 
shallows  have  proved  a  sufficient  barrier,  and  other 
kinds  have  been  kept  back  by  unfavorable  condi- 
tions of  various  sorts.  Streams  whose  waters  are 
always  charged  with  silt  or  sediment,  as  the  Mis- 
souri, Arkansas,  or  Brazos,  do  not  invite  fishes ;  and 
even  the  occasional  floods  of  red  mud  such  as  dis- 
figure otherwise  clear  streams,  like  the  Red  River 
or  the  Colorado  (of  Texas),  are  unfavorable.  Ex- 
tremely unfavorable  also  is  the  condition  which 
obtains  in  many  rivers  of  the  Southwest;  as  for 
example,  the  Red  River,  the  Sabine,  and  the  Trin- 
ity, which  are  full  from  bank  to  bank  in  winter  and 

1  Thus,  Dorosoma  cepedianum  Le  Sueur,  and  Clupea  chrysochloris 
Rafinesque,  have  found  their  way  into  Lake  Michigan  through 
canals. 

2  Oncorhynchus  tschcnvytscha  Walbaum. 

3  Oncorhynchus  nerka  Walbaum. 


114  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

spring,  and  which  dwindle  to  mere  rivulets  in  the 
autumn  droughts. 

In  general,  those  streams  which  have  conditions 
most  favorable  to  fish-life  will  be  found  to  contain 
the  greatest  number  of  species.  Such  streams  in- 
vite immigration;  and  in  them  the  struggle  for 
existence  is  individual  against  individual,  species 
against  species,  and  not  a  mere  struggle  with  hard 
conditions  of  life.  Some  of  the  conditions  most 
favorable  to  the  existence  in  any  stream  of  a  large 
number  of  species  of  fishes  are  the  following,  the 
most  important  of  which  is  the  one  mentioned 
first:  connection  with  a  large  hydrographic  basin; 
a  warm  climate;  clear  water;  a  moderate  current; 
a  bottom  of  gravel  (preferably  covered  by  a  growth 
of  weeds) ;  little  fluctuation  during  the  year  in  the 
volume  of  the  stream  or  in  the  character  of  the 
water. 

Limestone  streams  usually  yield  more  species 
than  streams  flowing  over  sandstone,  and  either 
more  than  the  streams  of  regions  having  metamor- 
phic  rocks.  Sandy  bottoms  usually  are  not  favor- 
able to  fishes.  In  general,  glacial  drift  makes  a 
suitable  river  bottom,  but  the  higher  temperature 
usual  in  regions  beyond  the  limits  of  the  drift  gives 
to  certain  Southern  streams  conditions  still  more  fa- 
vorable. These  conditions  are  all  well  realized  in 
the  Washita  River  in  Arkansas,  and  in  various  trib- 
utaries of  the  Tennessee,  Cumberland,  and  Ohio ; 
and  in  these,  among  American  streams,  the  great- 
est number  of  species  has  been  recorded. 

The  isolation  and  the  low  temperature  of  the 
rivers  of  New  England  have  given  to  them  a  very 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     115 

scanty  fish-fauna  as  compared  with  the  rivers  of 
the  South  and  West.  This  fact  has  been  noticed 
by  Professor  Agassiz,  who  has  called  New  England 
a  "  zoological  island."  : 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  barriers  of  every  sort 
are  sometimes  crossed  by  fresh-water  fishes,  we 
must  still  regard  the  matter  of  freedom  of  water 
communication  as  the  essential  one  in  determining 
the  range  of  most  species.  The  larger  the  river 
basin,  the  greater  the  variety  of  conditions  likely 
to  be  offered  in  it,  and  the  greater  the  number  of 
its  species.  In  case  of  the  divergence  of  new 
forms  by  the  processes  called  "  natural  selection," 
the  greater  the  number  of  such  forms  which  may 
have  spread  through  its  waters ;  the  more  extended 
any  river  basin,  the  greater  are  the  chances  that 
any  given  species  may  sometime  find  its  way  into 
it;  hence  the  greater  the  number  of  species  that 
actually  occur  in  it,  and,  freedom  of  movement 
being  assumed,  the  greater  the  number  of  species 
to  be  found  in  any  one  of  its  affluents. 

Of  the  six  hundred  species  of  fishes  found  in 
the  rivers  of  the  United  States,  about  two  hun- 
dred have  been  recorded  from  the  basin  of  the 
Mississippi.  From  fifty  to  one  hundred  of  these 

1  "  In  this  isolated  region  of  North  America,  in  this  zoological 
island  of  New  England,  as  we  may  call  it,  we  find  neither  Lepidos- 
teus,  nor  Amia,  nor  Polyodon,  nor  Amblodon  (Aplodinotus],  nor 
Grystes  (Micropterus],  nor  Centrarchus,  nor  Pomoxis,  nor  Am- 
bloplites,  nor  Calliurus  (Chanobryttus],  nor  Carpiodes,  nor  Hyodon, 
nor  indeed  any  of  the  characteristic  forms  of  North  American 
fishes  so  common  everywhere  else,  with  the  exception  of  two  Po- 
motis  (Lepomis),  one  Boleosoma,  and  a  few  Catostomus."  — 
AGASSIZ,  Amer.Journ.  Sci.  Arts,  1854. 


Il6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

species  can  be  found  in  any  one  of  the  tributary 
streams  of  the  size,  say,  of  the  Housatonic  River 
or  the  Charles.  In  the  Connecticut  River  there 
are  but  about  eighteen  species  permanently  resi- 
dent; and  the  number  found  in  the  streams  of 
Texas  is  not  much  larger,  the  best-known  of  these, 
the  Rio  Colorado,  having  yielded  but  twenty-four 
species. 

The  waters  of  the  Great  Basin  have  not  yet  been 
fully  explored.  The  number  of  species  now 
known  from  this  region  is  about  seventy-five. 
This  number  includes  the  fauna  of  the  upper  Rio 
Grande,  the  Snake  River,  and  the  Colorado,  as 
well  as  the  fishes  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake.  This  list  is  composed  almost  entirely 
of  a  few  genera  of  Suckers,1  Minnows,2  and  Trout.3 
None  of  the  Cat-fishes,  Perch,  Darters,  or  Sun- 
fishes,  Moon-eyes,  Pike,  Killifishes,  and  none  of 
the  ordinary  Eastern  types  of  Minnows4  have 
passed  the  barrier  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

West  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  fauna  is  still 
more  scanty,  but  fifty  species  being  enumerated. 
This  fauna,  except  for  certain  immigrants5  from 
the  sea,  is  of  the  same  general  character  as  that  of 
the  Great  Basin,  though  most  of  the  species  are 
different.  This  latter  fact  would  indicate  a  con- 
siderable change,  or  "  evolution,"  since  the  con- 
tents of  the  two  faunae  were  last  mingled.  There 

1  Catostomus,  Pantosteus,  Chasmistes. 

2  Sgualius,  Gila,  Pfychocheilus,  etc. 

3  Salmo  mykiss  and  its  varieties. 

4  Genera  Notropis,  Chrosomus,  etc. 

5  As  the  fresh-water  Surf-fish  (Hysterocarpus  traski)  and  the 
species  of  Salmon. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     II? 

is  a  considerable  difference  between  the  fauna  of 
the  Columbia  and  that  of  the  Sacramento.  The 
species  which  these  two  basins  have  in  common 
are  chiefly  those  which  at  times  pass  out  into  the 
sea.  The  rivers  of  Alaska  contain  but  few  species, 
barely  a  dozen  in  all,  most  of  these  being  found 
also  in  Siberia  and  Kamtschatka.  In  the  scanti- 
ness of  its  faunal  list,  the  Yukon  agrees  with  the 
Mackenzie  River,  and  with  Arctic  rivers  generally. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  general  ten- 
dency is  for  each  species  to  extend  its  range  more 
and  more  widely  until  all  localities  suitable  for  its 
growth  are  included.  The  various  agencies  of 
dispersal  which  have  existed  in  the  past  are  still 
in  operation.  There  is  apparently  no  limit  to 
their  action.  It  is  probable  that  new  "  colonies  " 
of  one  species  or  another  may  be  planted  each 
year  in  waters  not  heretofore  inhabited  by  such 
species.  But  such  colonies  become  permanent 
only  where  the  conditions  are  so  favorable  that 
the  species  can  hold  its  own  in  the  struggle  for 
food  and  subsistence.  That  various  modifications 
in  the  habitat  of  certain  species  have  been  caused 
by  human  agencies  is  of  course  too  well  known  to 
need  discussion  here. 

We  may  next  consider  the  question  of  water- 
sheds, or  barriers  which  separate  one  river  basin 
from  another. 

Of  such  barriers  in  the  United  States,  the  most 
important  and  most  effective  is  unquestionably 
that  of  the  main  chain  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
This  is  due  in  part  to  its  great  height,  still  more 
to  its  great  breadth,  and  most  of  all,  perhaps,  to 


Il8  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

the  fact  that  it  is  nowhere  broken  by  the  passage 
of  a  river.  But  two  species  —  the  Red-throated,  or 
Rocky  Mountain  Trout,1  and  the  Rocky  Mountain 
White-fish2  —  are  found  on  both  sides  of  it,  at  least 
within  the  limits  of  the  United  States ;  while  many 
genera,  and  even  several  families,  find  in  it  either 
an  eastern  or  a  western  limit  to  their  range.  In 
a  few  instances  representative  species,  probably 
modifications  or  separated  branches  of  the  same 
stock,  occur  on  opposite  sides  of  the  range,  but 
there  are  not  many  cases  of  correspondence  even 
thus  close.  The  two  faunae  are  practically  distinct. 
Even  the  widely  distributed  Red-spotted,  or  "  Dolly 
Varden  "  Trout,3  of  the  Columbia  River  and  its 
affluents,  does  not  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the 
mountains;  nor  does  the  Great  Lake  Trout4  nor 
the  Montana  Grayling 5  ever  make  its  way  to  the 
West. 

It  is  easy  to  account  for  this  separation  of  the 
faunae ;  but  how  shall  we  explain  the  almost  uni- 
versal diffusion  of  the  White-fish  and  the  Trout  in 
suitable  waters  on  both  sides  of  the  dividing  ridge? 
We  may  notice  that  these  two  are  the  species  which 
ascend  highest  in  the  mountains,  the  White-fish  in- 
habiting the  mountain  pools  and  lakes,  the  Trout 
ascending  all  brooks  and  rapids  in  search  of  their 
fountain-heads.  In  many  cases  the  ultimate  divid- 
ing ridge  is  not  very  broad,  and  we  may  imagine 

1  Salmo  mykiss  Walbaum  (= purpuratus  Pallas). 

2  Coregomis  williamsoni  Girard. 
8  Salve! inus  malma  Walbaum. 

*  Salvelinus  namaycush  Walbaum. 

6  Thymallus  signifer  ontariensis  Valenciennes. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     1 19 

that  at  some  time  spawn  or  even  young  fishes  may 
have  been  carried  across  by  birds  or  other  animals, 
or  by  man,  —  or  more  likely  by  the  dash  of  some 
summer  whirlwind.  Once  carried  across  in  favor- 
able circumstances,  the  species  might  survive  and 
spread. 

I  saw  last  summer  an  example  «of  how  such 
transfer  of  species  may  be  accomplished,  which 
shows  that  we  need  not  be  left  to  draw  on  the 
imagination  to  invent  possible  means  of  transit. 

There  are  few  water-sheds  in  the  world  better 
defined  than  the  mountain  range  which  forms  the 
"  backbone  "  of  Norway.  I  lately  climbed  a  peak 
in  this  range,  the  Suletind.  From  its  summit  I 
could  look  down  into  the  valleys  of  the  Lara  and 
the  Bagna,  flowing  in  opposite  directions  to  oppo- 
site sides  of  the  peninsula.  To  the  north  of  the 
Suletind  is  a  large  double  lake  called  the  Sletnin- 
genvand.  The  maps  show  this  lake  to  be  one  of 
the  chief  sources  of  the  westward-flowing  river 
Lara.  This  lake  is  in  August  swollen  by  the 
melting  of  the  snows,  and  at  the  time  of  my  visit 
it  was  visibly  the  source  of  both  these  rivers. 
From  its  southeastern  side  flowed  a  large  brook 
into  the  valley  of  the  Bagna,  and  from  its  south- 
western corner,  equally  distinctly,  came  the  waters 
which  fed  the  Lara.  This  lake,  like  similar  moun- 
tain ponds  in  all  northern  countries,  abounds  in 
trout;  and  these  trout  certainly  have  for  part  of 
the  year  an  uninterrupted  line  of  water  communi- 
cation from  the  Sognefjord  on  the  west  of  Norway 
to  the  Christianiafjord  on  the  southeast,  —  from  the 
North  Sea  to  the  Baltic.  Part  of  the  year  the  lake 


I2O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

has  probably  but  a  single  outlet  through  the  Lara. 
A  higher  temperature  would  entirely  cut  off  the 
flow  into  the  Bagna,  and  a  still  higher  one  might 
dry  up  the  lake  altogether.  This  Sletningenvand,1 
with  its  two  outlets  on  the  summit  of  a  sharp 
water-shed,  may  serve  to  show  us  how  other  lakes, 
permanent  or  temporary,  may  elsewhere  have 
acted  as  agencies  for  the  transfer  of  fishes.  We 
can  also  see  how  it  might  be  that  certain  mountain 
fishes  should  be  so  transferred  while  the  fishes  of 
the  upland  waters  may  be  left  behind.  In  some 
such  way  as  this  we  may  imagine  the  Trout  and 
the  White-fish  to  have  attained  their  present  wide 
range  in  the  Rocky  Mountain  region ;  and  in  simi- 
lar manner  perhaps  the  Eastern  Brook  Trout 2 
and  some  other  mountain  species3  may  have  been 
carried  across  the  Alleghanies. 

1  Since  the  above  was  written  I  have  been  informed  by  Professor 
John  M.  Coulter,  who  was  one  of  the  first  explorers  of  the  Yel- 
lowstone Park,  that  such  a  condition  still  exists  on  the  Rocky 
Mountain  Divide.     In  the  Yellowstone  Park  is  a  marshy  tract, 
traversable  by  fishes  in  the  rainy  season,  and  known  as  the  "  Two- 
Ocean  Water."     In  this  tract  rise  tributaries  both  of  the  Snake 
River  and   of  the  Yellowstone.     Similar  conditions   apparently 
exist  on  other  parts  of   the   Divide,   both  in   Montana  and  in 
Wyoming. 

Professor  John  C.  Branner  calls  my  attention  to  a  marshy  upland 
which  separates  the  valley  of  the  La  Plata  from  that  of  the  Ama- 
zon, and  which  permits  the  free  movement  of  fishes  from  the 
Paraguay  River  to  the  Tapajos.  It  is  well  known  that  through 
the  Cassiquiare  River  the  Rio  Negro,  another  branch  of  the 
Amazon,  is  joined  to  the  Orinoco  River.  It  is  thus  evident  that 
almost  all  the  waters  of  eastern  South  America  form  a  single 
basin,  so  far  as  the  fishes  are  concerned. 

2  Salvelinus  fontinalis  Mitchill. 

3  Notropis  rubricroceus  Cope ;  Rhinichthys  atronasus  Mitchill ; 
etc. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     121 

The  Sierra  Nevada  constitutes  also  a  very  im- 
portant barrier  to  the  diffusion  of  species.  This  is, 
however,  broken  by  the  passage  of  the  Columbia 
River,  and  many  species  thus  find  their  way  across 
it.  That  the  waters  to  the  west  of  it  are  not  un- 
favorable for  the  growth  of  eastern  fishes  is  shown 
by  the  fact  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the  Common 
Eastern  Cat-fish,1  or  Horned  Pout,  when  trans- 
ported from  the  Schuylkill  to  the  Sacramento. 
This  fish  is  now  one  of  the  important  food-fishes 
of  the  San  Francisco  markets.  It  has  become,  in 
fact,  an  especial  favorite  with  the  Chinaman, — 
himself  also  an  immigrant,  and  presenting  certain 
analogies  with  the  fish  in  question,  as  well  in  tem- 
perament as  in  habits. 

The  mountain  mass  of  Mount  Shasta  is,  as  al- 
ready stated,  a  considerable  barrier  to  the  range 
of  fishes,  though  a  number  of  species  find  their 
way  around  it  through  the  sea.  The  lower  and 
irregular  ridges  of  the  Coast  Range  are  of  small 
importance  in  this  regard,  as  the  streams  of  their 
east  slope  reach  the  sea  on  the  west  through  San 
Francisco  Bay.  Yet  the  San  Joaquin  contains  a 
few  species,  not  yet  recorded  from  the  smaller  rivers 
of  southwestern  California. 

The  main  chain  of  the  Alleghanies  forms  a  bar- 
rier of  importance  separating  the  rich  fish-fauna 
of  the  Tennessee  and  Ohio  basins  from  the  scan- 
tier fauna?  of  the  Atlantic  streams.  Yet  this  bar- 
rier is  crossed  by  many  more  species  than  is  the 
case  with  either  the  Rocky  Mountains  or  the  Sierra 
Nevada.  It  is  lower,  narrower,  and  much  more 

1  Ameinrus  nebulosus  Le  Sueur. 


122  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

broken,  —  as  in  New  York,  in  Pennsylvania,  and  in 
Georgia  there  are  several  streams  which  pass 
through  it  or  around  it.  The  much  greater  age  of 
the  Alleghany  chain,  as  compared  with  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  seems  not  to  be  an  element  of  any 
importance  in  this  connection.  Of  the  fish  which 
cross  this  chain,  the  most  prominent  is  the  Brook 
Trout,1  which  is  found  in  all  suitable  waters  from 
Hudson's  Bay  to  the  head  of  the  Chattahoochee. 
A  few  other  species  are  locally  found  in  the  head- 
waters of  certain  streams  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
range.  An  example  of  this  is  the  little  red  "  Fall- 
fish,"  2  found  only  in  the  mountain  tributaries  of 
the  Savannah  and  the  Tennessee.  We  may  sup- 
pose the  same  agencies  to  have  assisted  these 
species  that  we  have  imagined  in  the  case  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  Trout,  and  such  agencies  were 
doubtless  more  operative  in  the  times  imme- 
diately following  the  glacial  epoch  than  they  are 
now.  Professor  Cope  calls  attention  also  to  the 
numerous  caverns  existing  in  these  mountains,  as 
a  sufficient  medium  for  the  transfer  of  many  spe- 
cies. I  doubt  whether  the  main  chains  of  the  Blue 
Ridge  or  the  Great  Smoky  can  be  crossed  in  that 
way,  though  such  channels  are  not  rare  in  the  sub- 
carboniferous  limestones  of  the  Cumberland  range. 
The  passage  of  species  from  stream  to  stream 
along  the  Atlantic  slope  deserves  a  moment's 
notice.  It  is,  under  present  conditions,  impos- 
sible for  any  mountain  or  upland  fish,  as  the  Trout 
or  the  Miller's  Thumb,3  to  cross  from  the  Potomac 

1  Salvelimts  fontinalis,  2  Notrofis  rubricroccus  Cope. 

3  Cottus  richardsoni  Agassiz. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     123 

River  to  the  James,  or  from  the  Neuse  to  the 
Santee,  by  descending  to  the  lower  courses  of  the 
rivers,  and  thence  passing  along  either  through 
the  swamps  or  by  way  of  the  sea.  The  lower 
courses  of  these  streams,  warm  and  muddy,  are 
uninhabitable  by  such  fishes.  Such  transfers  are, 
however,  possible  farther  north.  From  the  rivers 
of  Canada  and  from  many  rivers  of  New  England 
the  Trout  does  descend  to  the  sea  and  into  the  sea, 
and  farther  north  the  White-fish  does  this  also. 
Thus  these  fishes  readily  pass  from  one  river 
basin  to  another.  As  this  is  the  case  now  every- 
where in  the  North,  it  may  have  been  the  case 
farther  south  in  the  time  of  the  glacial  cold.  We 
may,  I  think,  imagine  a  condition  of  things  in 
which  the  snow-fields  of  the  Alleghany  chain  might 
have  played  some  part  in  aiding  the  diffusion  of 
cold-loving  fishes.  A  permanent  snow-field  on  the 
Blue  Ridge  in  western  North  Carolina  might  ren- 
der almost  any  stream  in  the  Carolinas  suitable 
for  trout,  from  its  source  to  its  mouth.  An  in- 
creased volume  of  colder  water  might  carry  the 
trout  of  the  head-streams  of  the  Catawba  and  the 
Savannah  as  far  down  as  the  sea.  We  can  even 
imagine  that  the  trout  reached  these  streams  in 
the  first  place  through  such  agencies,  though  of 
this  there  is  no  positive  evidence.  For  the  pres- 
ence of  trout  in  the  upper  Chattahoochee,  we 
must  account  in  some  other  way. 

It  is  noteworthy  that  the  upland  fishes  are 
nearly  the  same  in  all  these  streams,  until  we 
reach  the  southern  limit  of  possible  glacial  in- 
fluence. South  of  western  North  Carolina,  the 


124  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

faunae  of  the  different  river  basins  appear  to  be 
more  distinct  from  one  another.  Certain  ripple- 
loving  types1  are  represented  by  closely  related 
but  unquestionably  different  species  in  each  river 
basin,  and  it  would  appear  that  a  thorough  ming- 
ling of  the  upland  species  in  these  rivers  has  never 
taken  place. 

With  the  lowland  species  of  the  Southern  rivers 
it  is  different.  Few  of  these  are  confined  within 
narrow  limits.  The  streams  of  the  whole  South 
Atlantic  and  Gulf  Coast  flow  into  shallow  bays, 
mostly  bounded  by  sand-spits  or  sand-bars  which 
the  rivers  themselves  have  brought  down.  In 
these  bays  the  waters  are  often  neither  fresh  nor 
salt;  or  rather,  they  are  alternately  fresh  and 
salt,  the  former  condition  being  that  of  the  winter 
and  spring.  Many  species  descend  into  these 

1  The  best  examples  of  this  are  the  following  :  in  the  Santee 
basin  are  found  Notropis  pyrrhomelaSy  Notropis  niveus,  and  Notropis 
chloristius  ;  in  the  Altamaha,  Notropis  xtznurus  and  Notropis  calli- 
setmts ;  in  the  Chattahoochee,  Notropis  hypseloptertis  and  Notropis 
eurystomus ;  in  the  Alabama,  Notropis  cceruleus,  No'ropis  trichrois- 
tius,  and  Notropis  callistius.  In  the  Alabama,  Escambia,  Pearl, 
and  numerous  other  rivers,  is  found  Notropis  cercostigma.  This 
species  descends  to  the  sea  in  the  cool  streams  of  the  pine-woods. 
Its  range  is  wider  than  that  of  the  others,  and  in  the  rivers  of 
Texas  it  reappears  in  the  form  of  a  scarcely  distinct  variety, 
Notropis  vcnusttis.  In  the  Tennessee  and  Cumberland,  and  in  the 
rivers  of  the  Ozark  range,  is  Notropis  galactunis  ;  and  in  the  upper 
Arkansas  Notropis  catmirus,  —  all  distinct  species  of  the  same 
general  type.  Northward,  in  all  the  streams  from  the  Potomac  to 
the  Oswego,  and  westward  to  the  Des  Moines  and  the  Arkansas, 
occurs  a  single  species  of  this  type,  Notropis  whipplei.  But  this 
species  is  not  known  from  any  of  the  streams  inhabited  by  any  of 
the  other  species  mentioned,  although  very  likely  it  is  the  parent 
stock  of  them  all. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     12$ 

bays,  thus  finding  every  facility  for  transfer  from 
river  to  river.  There  is  a  continuous  inland  pas- 
sage in  fresh  or  brackish  waters,  traversable  by 
such  fishes,  from  Chesapeake  Bay  nearly  to  Cape 
Fear;  and  similar  conditions  exist  on  the  coasts  of 
Louisiana,  Texas,  and  much  of  Florida.  In  Per- 
dido  Bay  I  have  found  fresh-water  Minnows1  and 
Silversides  2  living  together  with  marine  Gobies3 
and  salt-water  Eels.4  Fresh-water  Alligator  Gars  5 
and  marine  Sharks  compete  for  the  garbage 
thrown  over  from  the  Pensacola  wharves.  In  Lake 
Pontchartrain  the  fauna  is  a  remarkable  mixture 
of  fresh-water  fishes  from  the  Mississippi  and  ma- 
rine fishes  from  the  Gulf.  Channel-cats,  Sharks, 
Sea-crabs,  Sun-fishes,  and  Mullets  can  all  be  found 
there  together.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected 
that  the  lowland  fauna  of  all  the  rivers  of  the  Gulf 
States  would  closely  resemble  that  of  the  lower 
Mississippi ;  and  this,  in  fact,  is  the  case. 

The  streams  of  southern  Florida  and  those  of 
southwestern  Texas  offer  some  peculiarities  con- 
nected with  their  warmer  climate.  The  Florida 
streams  contain  a  few  peculiar  fishes ; 6  while 
the  rivers  of  Texas,  with  the  same  general  fauna 
as  those  farther  north,  have  also  a  few  distinctly 
tropical  types,7  immigrants  from  the  lowlands  of 
Mexico. 

The  fresh  waters  of  Cuba  are  inhabited  by  fishes 
unlike  those  found  in  the  United  States.  Some 

1  Notropis  cercostigma  j  Notropis  xtznocephalus. 

2  Labidesthes  sicculus.  8  Gobiosoma  molestum. 
4  Myrophis  punctatus.                          5  Lepisosteus  tristcechus. 

6  Jordanella,  Rivulus,  Heterandria,  etc. 

7  Heros,  Tetragonopterns. 


126  SCIENCE   SKETCHES. 

of  these  are  evidently  indigenous,  derived  in  the 
waters  they  now  inhabit  directly  from  marine 
forms.  Two  of  these  are  eyeless  species,1  inhabit- 
ing streams  in  the  caverns.  They  have  no  rela- 
tives in  the  fresh  waters  of  any  other  region,  the 
Blind-fishes  2  of  our  caves  being  of  a  wholly  dif- 
ferent type.  Some  of  the  Cuban  fishes  are  com- 
mon to  the  fresh  waters  of  the  other  West  Indies. 
Of  Northern  types,  only  one,  the  Alligator  Gar,3 
is  found  in  Cuba,  and  this  is  evidently  a  filibuster 
immigrant  from  the  coasts  of  Florida. 

The  low  and  irregular  water-shed  which  sepa- 
rates the  tributaries  of  Lake  Michigan  and  Lake 
Erie  from  those  of  the  Ohio  is  of  little  importance 
in  determining  the  range  of  species.  Many  of  the 
distinctively  Northern  fishes  are  found  in  the  head- 
waters of  the  Wabash  and  the  Scioto.  The  con- 
siderable difference  in  the  general  fauna  of  the 
Ohio  Valley  as  compared  with  that  of  the  streams 
of  Michigan  is  due  to  the  higher  temperature  of 
the  former  region,  rather  than  to  any  existing  bar- 
riers between  the  river  and  the  Great  Lakes.  In 
northern  Indiana  the  water-shed  is  often  swampy, 
and  in  many  places  large  ponds  exist  in  the  early 
spring. 

At  times  of  heavy  rains  many  species  will  move 
through  considerable  distances  by  means  of  tem- 
porary ponds  and  brooks.  Fishes  that  have  thus 
emigrated  often  reach  places  ordinarily  inacces- 

1  Lucifuga  and  Stygicola,  fishes  allied  to  the  Cod,  and  belonging 
to  the  family  of  Brotulida. 

2  Amblyopsis,  Typhlichthys. 

3  Lepisosteus  tristctchus. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     I2/ 

sible,  and  people  finding  them  in  such  localities 
often  imagine  that  they  have  "rained  down." 
Once,  near  Indianapolis,  after  a  heavy  shower,  I 
found  in  a  furrow  in  a  corn-field  a  small  Pike,1 
some  half  a  mile  from  the  creek  in  which  he  should 
belong.  The  fish  was  swimming  along  in  a  tempo- 
rary brook,  apparently  wholly  unconscious  that  he 
was  not  in  his  native  stream.  Migratory  fishes, 
which  ascend  small  streams  to  spawn,  are  espe- 
cially likely  to  be  transferred  in  this  way.  By 
some  such  means  any  of  the  water-sheds  in  Ohio, 
Indiana,  or  Illinois  may  be  passed. 

It  is  certain  that  the  limits  of  Lake  Erie  and 
Lake  Michigan  were  once  more  extended  than 
now.  It  is  reasonably  probable  that  some  of 
the  territory  now  drained  by  the  Wabash  and  the 
Illinois  was  once  covered  by  the  waters  of  Lake 
Michigan.  The  Cisco  2  of  Lake  Tippecanoe,  Lake 
Geneva,  and  the  lakes  of  the  Oconomowoc  chain, 
is  evidently  a  modified  descendant  of  the  so-called 
Lake  Herring.3  Its  origin  most  likely  dates  from 
the  time  when  these  small  deep  lakes  of  Indiana 
and  Wisconsin  were  connected  with  Lake  Michigan. 
The  changes  in  habits  which  the  Cisco  has  under- 
gone are  considerable.  The  changes  in  external 
characters  are  but  trifling.  The  presence  of  the 
Cisco  in  these  lakes  and  its  periodical  disappear- 
ance—  that  is,  retreat  into  deep  water  when  not  in 
the  breeding  season  —  has  given  rise  to  much  non- 
sensical discussion  as  to  whether  any  or  all  of 

1  Esox  vermicttlatus  Le  Sueur. 

2  Cor  ego  mis  artedi  sisco,  Jordan. 
8  Coregonus  artedi  Le  Sueur. 


128  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

these  lakes  are  still  joined  to  Lake  Michigan  by 
subterranean  channels.  Several  of  the  larger  fishes, 
properly  characteristic  of  the  Great  Lake  Region,1 
are  occasionally  taken  in  the  Ohio  River,  where 
they  are  usually  recognized  as  rare  stragglers. 
The  difference  in  physical  conditions  is  probably 
the  sole  cause  of  their  scarcity  in  the  Ohio  basin. 

The  similarity  of  the  fishes  in  the  different  streams 
and  lakes  of  the  Great  Basin  is  doubtless  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  general  mingling  of  their  waters 
which  took  place  during  and  after  the  glacial  epoch. 
Since  that  period  the  climate  in  that  region  has 
grown  hotter  and  drier,  until  the  overflow  of  the 
various  lakes  into  the  Columbia  basin  through  the 
Snake  River  has  long  since  ceased.  These  lakes 
have  become  isolated  from  each  other,  and  many  of 
them  have  become  salt  or  alkaline  and  therefore  un- 
inhabitable. In  some  of  these  lakes  certain  species 
may  now  have  become  extinct  which  still  remain 
in  others.  In  some  cases,  perhaps,  the  differences 
in  surrounding  may  have  caused  divergence  into 
distinct  species  of  what  was  once  one  parent  stock. 
The  Suckers  in  Lake  Tahoe2  and  those  in  Utah 
Lake  are  certainly  now  different  from  each  other 
and  from  those  in  the  Columbia.  The  Trout3  in 
the  same  waters  can  be  regarded  as  more  or  less 
tangible  varieties  only,  while  the  White-fishes  4  show 
no  differences  at  all.  The  differences  in  the  present 

1  As,  Lota  lota  maciilosa  ;  Per  cop  sis  guttatus  ;  Esox  masquinoiigy. 

2  Catostomus  tahoensis,  in  Lake  Tahoe  ;  Catostomus  macrocheilus 
and  discobolus,  in  the  Columbia ;  Catostomus  fecundus,  Catostomus 
ardcns;  Chasmistes  liorus  and  Pantos  tens  generosus^  in  Utah  Lake. 

3  Salmo  mykiss,  et  vars.  henshawi  and  virginalis. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     1 29 

faunae  of  Lake  Tahoe  and  Utah  Lake  must  be 
chiefly  due  to  influences  which  have  acted  since 
the  glacial  epoch,  when  the  whole  Utah  Basin  was 
part  of  the  drainage  of  the  Columbia. 

Connected  perhaps  with  changes  due  to  glacial 
influences  is  the  presence  in  the  deep  waters  of  the 
Great  Lakes  of  certain  marine  types,1  as  shown 
by  the  explorations  of  Professor  Sidney  I.  Smith 
and  others.  One  of  these  is  a  genus  of  fishes,2  of 
which  the  nearest  allies  now  inhabit  the  Arctic 
Seas.  In  his  review  of  the  fish-fauna  of  Finland,3 
Professor  A.  J.  Malmgren  finds  a  number  of  Arctic 
species  in  the  waters  of  Finland  which  are  not 
found  either  in  the  North  Sea  or  in  the  southern 
portions  of  the  Baltic.  These  fishes  are  said  to 
"  agree  with  their  '  forefathers '  in  the  Glacial 
Ocean  in  every  point,  but  remain  comparatively 
smaller,  leaner,  almost  starved."  Professor  Loven4 
also  has  shown  that  numerous  small  animals  of  ma- 
rine origin  are  found  in  the  deep  lakes  of  Sweden 
and  Finland  as  well  as  in  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia. 
These  anomalies  of  distribution  are  explained  by 
Loven  and  Malmgren  on  the  supposition  of  the 
former  continuity  of  the  Baltic  through  the  Gulf 
of  Bothnia  with  the  Glacial  Ocean.  During  the 
second  half  of  the  glacial  period,  according  to 
Loven,  "  the  greater  part  of  Finland  and  of  the 

1  Species  of  Mysis  and  other  genera  of  Crustaceans,  similar 
to  species  described  by  Sars  and  othfcrs,  in  lakes  of  Sweden  and 
Finland. 

2  Triglopsis  thompsoni  Girard,  a  near  ally  of  the  marine  species 
Acanthocottus  qitadricornis  L. 

3  Kritisk  Ofversigt  af  Finlands  Fisk-Fauna:  Helsingfors,  1863. 

4  See  Giinther,  Zoological  Record  for  1864,  p.  137. 

9 


I3O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

middle  of  Sweden  was  submerged,  and  the  Baltic 
was  a  great  gulf  of  the  Glacial  Ocean,  and  not  con- 
nected with  the  German  Ocean.  By  the  gradual 
elevation  of  the  Scandinavian  Continent,  the  Baltic 
became  disconnected  from  the  Glacial  Ocean,  and 
the  great  lakes  separated  from  the  Baltic.  In 
consequence  of  the  gradual  change  of  the  salt 
water  into  fresh,  the  marine  fauna  became  gradu- 
ally extinct,  with  the  exception  of  the  glacial  forms 
mentioned  above." 

It  is  possible  that  the  presence  of  marine  types 
in  our  Great  Lakes  is  to  be  regarded  as  due  to 
some  depression  of  the  land  which  would  connect 
their  waters  with  those  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Law- 
rence. On  this  point,  however,  our  data  are  still 
incomplete. 

To  certain  species  of  upland  or  mountain  fishes, 
the  depression  of  the  Mississippi  basin  itself  forms 
a  barrier  which  cannot  be  passed.  The  Black- 
spotted  Trout,1  very  closely  related  species  of 
which  abound  in  all  waters  of  northern  Asia, 
Europe,  and  western  North  America,  has  nowhere 
crossed  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi,  although  one 
of  its  species  finds  no  difficulty  in  passing  Behring 
Strait.  The  Trout  ancT  White-fish  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  region  are  all  species  different  from 
those  of  the  Great  Lakes  or  the  streams  of  the 
Alleghany  system.  To  the  Grayling,  the  Trout, 

* 

1  Salmo  fario  L.,  in  Europe ;  Salmo  labrax  Pallas,  etc  ,  in 
Asia;  Salmo  gairdneri  Richardson,  in  streams  of  the  Pacific 
Coast.  Salmo  mykiss  Walbaum,  in  Kamtschatka,  Alaska,  and 
throughout  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  to  the  Mexican  boundary, 
and  the  head-waters  of  the  Kansas,  Platte,  and  Missouri. 


DISPERSION  OF  FRESH-WATER  FISHES.     131 

the  White-fish,  the  Pike,  and  to  arctic  and  sub- 
arctic species  generally,  Behring  Strait  have  evi- 
dently proved  no  serious  obstacle  to  diffusion ; 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  much  of  the  close  re- 
semblance of  the  fresh-water  faunae  of  northern 
Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America  is  due  to  this 
fact.  To  attempt  to  decide  from  which  side  the 
first  migration  came  in  regard  to  each  group  of 
fishes  might  be  interesting ;  but  without  a  wider 
range  of  facts  than  is  now  in  our  possession,  such 
attempts  would  be  mere  guesswork  and  without 
value.  The  interlocking  of  the  fish-faunae  of  Asia 
and  North  America  presents,  however,  a  number  of 
interesting  problems,  for  numerous  migrations  in 
both  directions  have  doubtless  taken  place. 

I  could  go  on  indefinitely  with  the  discussion  of 
special  cases,  each  more  or  less  interesting  or  sug- 
gestive in  itself,  but  the  general  conclusion  is  in  all 
cases  the  same.  The  present  distribution  of  fishes 
is  the  result  of  the  long-continued  action  of  forces 
still  in  operation.  The  species  have  entered  our 
waters  in  many  invasions  from  the  Old  World  or 
from  the  sea.  Each  species  has  been  subjected  to 
the  various  influences  implied  in  the  term  "  natural 
selection,"  and  under  varying  conditions  its  repre- 
sentatives have  undergone  many  different  modifi- 
cations. Each  of  the  six  hundred  species  we  now 
know  may  be  conceived  as  making  every  year  in- 
roads on  territory  occupied  by  other  species.  If 
these  colonies  are  able  to  hold  their  own  in  the 
struggle  for  possession,  they  will  multiply  in  the 
new  conditions,  and  the  range  of  the  species  be- 
comes widened.  If  the  surroundings  are  different, 


132  SCIENCE   SKETCHES. 

new  species  or  varieties  may  be  formed  with  time ; 
and  these  new  forms  may  again  invade  the  terri- 
tory of  the  parent  species.  Again,  colony  after 
colony  of  species  after  species  may  be  destroyed 
by  other  species  or  by  uncongenial  surroundings. 

The  ultimate  result  of  centuries  on  centuries  of 
the  restlessness  of  individuals  is  seen  in  the  facts 
of  geographical  distribution.  Only  in  the  most 
general  way  can  the  history  of  any  species  be 
traced  ;  but  could  we  know  it  all,  it  would  be 
as  long  and  as  eventful  a  story  as  the  history  of 
the  colonization  and  settlement  of  North  America 
by  immigrants  from  Europe.  But  by  the  fishes 
each  river  in  America  has  been  a  hundred  times 
discovered,  its  colonization  a  hundred  times  at- 
tempted. In  these  efforts  there  is  no  co-operation. 
Every  individual  is  for  himself,  every  struggle  a 
struggle  of  life  and  death ;  for  each  fish  is  a  canni- 
bal, and  to  each  species  each  member  of  every 
other  species  is  an  alien  and  a  savage. 


A  GASSIZ  A  T  PENIKESE.  1 3  3 


AGASSIZ   AT  PENIKESE. 

T  GUIS  AGASSIZ  came  to  America  in  1846, 
-L'  while  in  the  height  of  his  European  fame. 
He  came  to  America  partly  because  he  wished  to 
test  on  this  continent  his  theory  of  the  action  of 
ice,  partly  because  he  desired  to  see  for  himself 
the  mighty  new  land  where  "  Nature  is  rich,  but 
tools  and  workmen  few,  while  traditions  there  are 
none."  "  He  came,"  it  was  said,  "  in  a  spirit  of 
adventure  and  curiosity.  He  stayed  because  he 
liked  a  country  where  he  could  think  and  act  as 
he  pleased." 

His  associates  here  were  not  more  wise  or  more 
learned  than  his  fellow-workers  in  Europe.  He 
found,  as  others  have  found  in  America,  many 
things  which  are  crude  or  ridiculous  or  stupid. 
But  there  were  other  matters  for  which  he  cared 
more  than  for  the  advantages  of  European  culture. 
He  found  in  America  the  spirit  of  progress.  He 
found  a  people  not  satisfied  with  present  achieve- 
ment, but  continually  striving  for  something  bet- 
ter. He  found  that  the  desire  of  each  generation 
was  to  know  more  and  to  be  more  than  was  possi- 
ble with  generations  preceding.  He  believed  that 
as  a  teacher  in  America  his  influence  would  be 
tenfold  greater  than  it  could  possibly  be  in  any  of 
the  universities  of  Germany  or  France.  He  could 


134  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

make  his  whole  strength  count,  because  no  artifi- 
cial barriers  would  come  between  him  and  the 
student. 

From  the  time  that  Agassiz  landed  on  our  shores 
till  his  death,  he  became  more  and  more  intensely 
American.  He  was  all  the  more  American  because 
his  life  in  Europe  had  made  him  keenly  alive  to 
the  evil  effects  of  barriers  of  all  sorts,  social,  politi- 
cal, economic,  to  all  the  thousand  forms  of  injus- 
tice and  oppression  which  accompany  despotism  or 
paternalism  in  government  The  American  idea 
of  freedom  ingrowth  and  equality  in  opportunity 
found  in  him  an  earnest  apostle,  and  in  the  ulti- 
mate triumph  of  this  idea  he  had  never  the  slight- 
est doubt. 

He  was  above  all  else  a  teacher.  His  work  in 
America  was  that  of  a  teacher  of  science,  —  of  sci- 
ence in  the  broadest  sense  as  the  orderly  arrange-, 
ment  of  the  results  of  all  human  experience.  He 
would  teach  men  to  know,  not  simply  to  remember 
or  to  guess.  He  believed  that  men  in  all  walks  of 
life  would  be  more  useful  and  more  successful 
through  the  thorough  development  of  the  powers 
of  observation  and  judgment.  He  believed  that 
the  sense  of  reality  should  be  the  central  axis  of 
human  life.  He  would  have  the  student  trained 
through  contact  with  real  things,  not  merely  exer- 
cised in  the  recollection  of  the  book  descriptions 
of  things.  "  If  you  study  Nature  in  books,"  he 
said,  "  when  you  go  out  of  doors  you  cannot  find 
her." 

Agassiz  was  once  asked  to  write  a  text-book  in 
zoology  for  the  use  of  schools  and  colleges.  Of 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  135 

this  he  said :  "  I  told  the  publishers  that  I  was  not 
the  man  to  do  that  sort  of  thing,  and  I  told  them, 
too,  that  the  less  of  that  sort  of  thing  which  is 
done  the  better.  It  is  not  school-books  we  want, 
it  is  students.  The  book  of  Nature  is  always  open, 
and  all  that  I  can  do  or  say  shall  be  to  lead  young 
people  to  study  that  book,  and  not  to  pin  their 
faith  to  any  other." 

He  taught  natural  history  in  Harvard  College  as 
no  other  man  had  taught  in  America  before.  He 
was  the  best  beloved  of  teachers,  because  he  was 
the  most  genial  and  kindly.  Cambridge  people 
used  to  say  that  one  had  "  less  need  of  an  over- 
coat in  passing  Agassiz's  house  "  than  any  other  in 
that  city.  In  the  interest  of  popular  education  as 
well  as  of  scientific  research,  Agassiz  laid  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology. 
Here,  in  the  face  of  all  sorts  of  discouragements, 
he  worked  with  a  wonderful  zeal,  —  a  zeal  which 
showed  its  results  in  the  prosperity  of  everything 
with  which  he  had  to  do.  Less  energetic  pro- 
fessors complained  that  Agassiz's  department  re- 
ceived too  much  attention.  Even  Emerson  ven- 
tured to  suggest,  in  one  of  his  lectures  in  1864, 
that  Harvard  University  was  in  danger  of  a  one- 
sided growth.  To  this  criticism  of  Emerson  Agassiz 
responded  in  a  most  characteristic  personal  letter. 
This  letter  gives  the  key-note  of  the  modern  idea 
of  university  development. 

From  this  letter  I  quote  a  few  paragraphs :  — 
"  You  say,"  says  Agassiz,  "  that  Natural  History 
is  getting  too  great  an  ascendency  among  us,  that 
it  is  out  of  proportion  to  other  departments,  and 


136  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

you  hint  that  a  check-rein  would  not  be  amiss  on 
the  enthusiastic  professor  who  is  responsible  for 
all  this. 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  the  way  to  bring  about  a 
well-proportioned  development  of  all  the  resour- 
ces of  the  University  is  not  to  check  the  Natural 
History  department,  but  to  stimulate  the  others? 
Not  that  the  Zoological  school  grows  too  fast,  but 
that  the  others  do  not  grow  fast  enough? 

"  This  sounds  invidious  and  somewhat  boastful, 
but  it  is  you  and  not  I  who  have  instituted  the  com- 
parison. It  strikes  me  that  you  have  not  hit  upon 
the  best  remedy  for  this  want  of  balance.  If  sym- 
metry is  to  be  obtained  by  cutting  down  the  most 
vigorous  growth,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  would  be 
better  to  have  a  little  irregularity  here  and  there. 
In  stimulating  by  every  means  in  my  power  the 
growth  of  the  Museum  and  the  means  of  education 
connected  with  it,  I  am  far  from  having  a  selfish 
wish  to  see  my  own  department  tower  above  the 
others.  I  wish  that  every  one  of  my  colleagues 
would  make  it  hard  for  me  to  keep  up  with  him ; 
and  there  are  some  among  them,  I  am  happy  to 
say,  who  are  ready  to  run  a  race  with  me." 

In  one  of  his  addresses  Agassiz  said:  — 

"The  physical  suffering  of  humanity,  the  wants 
of  the  poor,  the  craving  of  the  hungry  and  naked, 
appeal  to  the  sympathy  of  every  one  who  has  a 
human  heart.  But  there  are  necessities  which 
only  the  destitute  student  knows ;  there  is  a  hunger 
and  thirst  which  only  the  highest  charity  can 
understand  and  relieve,  and  on  this  solemn  occa- 
sion let  me  say  that  every  dollar  given  for  higher 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  137 

education  in  whatever  department  of  knowledge  is 
likely  to  have  a  greater  influence  on  the  future 
character  of  our  nation  than  even  the  thousands 
and  hundred  thousands  and  millions  which  we 
have  already  spent  and  are  spending  to  raise  the 
many  to  material  ease  and  comfort." 

Of  the  older  teachers  of  biology  in  America,  the 
men  who  were  born  between  1825  and  1850,  nearly 
all  who  have  reached  eminence  have  been  at  one 
time  or  another  pupils  of  Agassiz.  The  names 
of  LeConte,  Hartt,  Shaler,  Scudder,  Wilder, 
Hyatt,  Putnam,  Packard,  Clark,  Alexander  Agassiz, 
Morse,  Brooks,  Whitman,  Minot,  Carman,  Faxon, 
Fewkes,  James,  Niles,  and  many  others  not  less 
worthily  known,  come  to  our  thoughts  at  once  as 
evidence  of  this  statement,  as  well  as  those  of 
Steindachner,  J.  A.  Allen,  Ball,  Uhler,  Marcou, 
Bickmore,  Lyman,  Girard,  Ordway,  St.  John, 
Anthony,  and  others  who  have  won  celebrity  in 
scientific  work  outside  the  class-room.  Those 
naturalists  who,  like  Gray,  Dana,  Baird,  Lesley, 
Kirtland,  Engelmann,  Wachsmuth,  Hagen,  Les- 
quereux,  Stimpson,  and  others,  were  not  pupils, 
were  associates  and  friends. 

Even  as  late  as  1873,  when  Agassiz  died,  the 
Museum  of  Comparative  Zoology  was  almost  the 
only  school  in  America  where  the  eager  student  of 
natural  history  could  find  the  work  he  wanted. 
The  colleges  generally  taught  only  the  elements  of 
any  of  the  sciences.  Twenty  years  ago  original 
research  was  scarcely  considered  as  among  the 
functions  of  the  American  college.  Such  inves- 
tigators as  America  had  were  for  the  most  part 


138  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

outside  of  the  colleges,  or  at  the  best  carrying  on 
their  investigations  in  time  stolen  from  the  drud- 
gery of  the  class-room.  One  of  the  greatest  of 
American  astronomers  was  kept  for  forty  years 
teaching  algebra  and  geometry,  with  never  a  stu- 
dent far  enough  advanced  to  realize  the  real  work 
of  his  teacher ;  and  this  case  was  typical  of  hun- 
dreds before  the  university  spirit  was  kindled  in 
American  schools.  That  this  spirit  was  kindled  in 
Harvard  forty  years  ago  was  due  in  the  greatest 
measure  to  Agassiz's  influence.  It  was  here  that 
graduate  instruction  in  science  in  America  practi- 
cally began.  In  an  important  sense  the  Museum 
of  Comparative  Zoology  was  the  first  American 
university. 

Notwithstanding  the  great  usefulness  of  the  Mu- 
seum and  the  broad  influence  of  its  teachers, 
Agassiz  was  not  fully  satisfied.  The  audience  he 
reached  was  still  too  small.  Throughout  the  coun- 
try the  great  body  of  teachers  of  science  went  on 
in  the  old  mechanical  way.  On  these  he  was  able 
to  exert  no  influence.  The  boys  and  girls  still 
kept  up  the  humdrum  recitations  from  worthless 
text-books.  They  got  their  lessons  from  the  book, 
recited  them  from  memory,  and  no  more  came  into 
contact  with  Nature  than  they  would  if  no  animals 
or  plants  or  rocks  existed  on  this  side  of  the  planet 
Jupiter.  It  was  to  remedy  this  state  of  things  that 
Agassiz  conceived,  in  1872,  the  idea  of  a  scienti- 
fic "  camp-meeting,"  where  the  workers  and  the 
teachers  might  meet  together,  —  a  summer  school 
of  observation,  where  the  teachers  should  be  trained 
to  see  Nature  for  themselves  and  teach  others  how 
to  see  it. 


A  GASSIZ  A  T  PENIKESE.  1 39 

The  first  plan  suggested  was  that  of  calling  the 
teachers  of  the  country  together  for  a  summer  out- 
ing on  the  island  of  Nantucket.  Before  the  site 
was  chosen,  Mr.  John  Anderson,  a  wealthy  tobacco- 
merchant  in  New  York  City,  offered  to  Agassiz  the 
use  of  his  island  of  Penikese,  and  an  endowment  of 
fifty  thousand  dollars  in  money,  if  he  would  per- 
manently locate  this  scientific  "  camp-meeting"  on 
the  island.  To  this  gift  Mr.  C.  W.  Galloupe,  of 
Boston,  added  the  use  of  his  large  yacht,  the 
"  Sprite."  Thus  was  founded  the  Anderson  School 
of  Natural  History  on  the  island  of  Penikese. 

Penikese  is  a  little  island  containing  about  sixty 
acres  of  very  rocky  ground,  a  pile  of  stones  with 
intervals  of  soil.  It  is  the  last  and  least  of  the 
Elizabeth  Islands,  lying  to  the  south  of  Buzzard's 
Bay,  on  the  south  coast  of  Massachusetts.  The 
whole  cluster  was  once  a  great  terminal  moraine  of 
rocks  and  rubbish  of  all  sorts,  brought  down  from 
the  mainland  by  some  ancient  glacier,  and  by  it 
dropped  into  the  ocean  off  the  heel  of  Cape  Cod. 
The  sea  has  broken  up  the  moraine  into  eight  little 
islands  by  wearing  tide  channels  between  hill  and 
hill.  The  names  of  these  islands  are  recorded  in 
the  jingle  which  the  children  of  that  region  learn 
before  they  go  to  school,  — 

"  Naushon,  Nonamesset,  Uncatena,  and  Wepecket, 
Nashawena,  Pesquinese,  Cuttyhunk,  and  Penikese." 

And  Penikese,  last  and  smallest  of  them,  lies,  a  little 
forgotten  speck,  out  in  the  ocean,  eighteen  miles 
south  of  New  Bedford.  It  contained  two  hills, 
joined  together  by  a  narrow  isthmus,  a  little  har- 


I4O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

bor,  a  farm-house,  a  flag-staff,  a  barn,  a  willow-tree, 
and  a  flock  of  sheep.  And  here  Agassiz  founded 
his  school.  This  was  in  the  month  of  June  in  the 
year  1873. 

From  the  many  hundred  applicants  who  sent  in 
their  names  as  soon  as  the  plan  was  made  public 
Agassiz  chose  fifty,  —  about  thirty  men  and  twenty 
women  —  teachers,  students,  and  naturalists  of  vari- 
ous grades  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  This 
practical  recognition  of  coeducation  was  criticised 
by  many  of  Agassiz's  friends,  trained  in  the  monas- 
tic schools  of  New  England ;  but  the  results  justi- 
fied his  decision.  It  was  his  thought  that  these 
fifty  teachers  should  be  trained  as  well  as  might 
be  in  right  methods  of  work.  They  should  carry 
into  their  schools  his  own  views  of  scientific  teach- 
ing. Then  each  of  these  schools  would  become  in 
its  time  a  centre  of  help  to  others,  until  the  in- 
fluence toward  real  work  in  science  should  spread 
throughout  our  educational  system. 

None  of  us  will  ever  forget  his  first  sight  ot 
Agassiz.  We  had  come  down  from  New  Bedford 
in  a  little  tug-boat  in  the  early  morning,  and 
Agassiz  met  us  at  the  landing-place  on  the  island. 
He  was  standing  almost  alone  on  the  little  wharf, 
and  his  great  face  beamed  with  pleasure.  For  this 
summer  school,  the  thought  of  his  old  age,  might 
be  the  crowning  work  of  his  lifetime.  Who  could 
foresee  what  might  come  from  the  efforts  of  fifty 
men  and  women,  teachers  of  science,  each  striving 
to  do  his  work  in  the  most  rational  way?  His 
thoughts  and  hopes  rose  to  expectations  higher 
than  any  of  us  then  understood. 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  141 

His  tall,  robust  figure,  his  broad  shoulders  bend- 
ing a  little  under  the  weight  of  years,  his  large  round 
face  lit  up  by  kindly  dark-brown  eyes,  his  cheery 
smile,  the  enthusiastic  tones  of  his  voice,  his  roll- 
ing gait,  like  that  of  "  a  man  who  had  walked 
much  over  ploughed  ground,"  —  all  these  entered 
into  our  first  as  well  as  our  last  impression's  of 
Agassiz.  He  greeted  us  with  great  warmth  as  we 
landed.  He  looked  into  our  faces  to  justify  him- 
self in  making  choice  of  us  among  the  many  whom 
he  might  have  chosen. 

The  roll  of  the  Anderson  School  has  never  been 
published,  and  I  can  only  restore  a  part  of  it  from 
memory.  Among  those  whose  names  come  to  my 
mind  as  I  write  are  Dr.  Charles  O.  Whitman,  of 
the  University  of  Chicago;  Dr.  William  K.  Brooks, 
of  Johns  Hopkins ;  Dr.  Frank  H.  Snow,  now  Chan- 
cellor of  the  University  of  Kansas ;  Dr.  W.  O. 
Crosby,  of  the  Boston  Society  of  Natural  History; 
Charles  Sedgwick  Minot,  Samuel  Garman,  Walter 
Faxon,  J.  Walter  Fewkes,  —  all  of  these  still  con- 
nected with  the  work  at  Cambridge;  Ernest 
Ingersoll,  then  just  beginning  his  literary  work; 
Professor  J.  G.  Scott,  of  the  Normal  School  at 
Westfield ;  Professor  Stowell,  of  the  school  at 
Cortland ;  Professor  Austin  C.  Apgar,  of  Trenton, 
N.  J. ;  Professor  Fernald,  of  Maine;  Miss  Susan 
Hallowell,  of  Wellesley  College;  Miss  Mary  A. 
Beaman  (now  Mrs.  Joralemon,  of  the  Belmont 
School,  California)  ;  Mr.  E.  A.  Gastman,  of  Illi- 
nois, and  other  well-known  instructors.  With 
these  was  the  veteran  teacher  of  botany  at  Mount 
Holyoke  Seminary,  Lydia  W.  Shattuck,  with  her 


142  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

pupil  and  associate,  Susan  Bowen.  Professor 
H.  H.  Straight  and  his  bride,  both  then  teachers 
in  the  State  Normal  School  at  Oswego,  were  also 
with  us.  These  four,  whom  all  of  us  loved  and 
respected,  were  the  first  of  our  number  to  be 
claimed  by  death. 

Among  our  teachers,  besides  Agassiz,  were  Burt 
G.  Wilder,  Edward  S.  Morse,  Alfred  Mayer,  Fred- 
erick W.  Putnam,  then  young  men  of  growing 
fame,  with  Arnold  Guyot  and  Count  Pourtales, 
early  associates  of  Agassiz,  already  in  the  fulness 
of  years.  Mrs.  Agassiz  was  present  at  every  lec- 
ture, note-book  in  hand  ;  and  her  genial  personality 
did  much  to  bind  the  company  together. 

The  old  barn  on  the  island  had  been  hastily 
converted  into  a  dining-hall  and  lecture-room.  A 
new  floor  had  been  put  in ;  but  the  doors  and  walls 
remained  unchanged,  and  the  swallows'  nests  were 
undisturbed  under  the  eaves.  The  sheep  had  been 
turned  out,  the  horse-stalls  were  changed  to  a 
kitchen,  and  on  the  floor  of  the  barn,  instead  of 
the  hay-wagon,  were  placed  three  long  tables.  At 
the  head  of  one  of  these  sat  Agassiz.  At  his  right 
hand  always  stood  a  movable  blackboard,  for  he 
seldom  spoke  without  a  piece  of  chalk  in  his  hand. 
He  would  often  give  us  a  lecture  while  we  sat  at 
the  table,  frequently  about  some  fish  or  other  crea- 
ture the  remains  of  which  still  lay  on  our  plates. 

Our  second  day  upon  the  island  was  memorable 
above  all  others.  Its  striking  incident  has  passed 
into  literature  in  the  poem  of  Whittier :  "  The 
Prayer  of  Agassiz." 

When  the  morning  meal  was  over,  Agassiz  arose 


UN;/.      r-ITY 
^  CHSgyZ .  4  7*  PRNIKESE.  1 4$ 

in  his  place  and  spoke,  as  only  he  could  speak,  of 
his  purpose  in  calling  us  together.  The  swallows 
flew  in  and  out  of  the  building  in  the  soft  June  air, 
for  they  did  not  know  that  it  was  no  longer  a  barn 
but  a  temple.  Some  of  them  almost  grazed  his 
shoulder  as  he  spoke  to  us  of  the  needs  of  the  peo- 
ple for  truer  education.  He  told  us  how  these 
needs  could  be  met,  and  of  the  results  which  might 
come  to  America  from  the  training  and  consecra- 
tion of  fifty  teachers.  This  was  to  him  no  ordinary 
school,  still  less  an  idle  summer's  outing,  but  a 
mission  work  of  the  greatest  importance.  He 
spoke  with  intense  earnestness,  and  all  his  words 
were  filled  with  that  deep  religious  feeling  so  char- 
acteristic of  his  mind.  For  to  Agassiz  each  natural 
object  was  a  thought  of  God,  and  trifling  with 
God's  truth  as  expressed  in  Nature  was  the  basest 
of  sacrilege. 

What  Agassiz  said  that  morning  can  never  be 
said  again.  No  reporter  took  his  language,  and 
no  one  could  call  back  the  charm  of  his  manner  or 
the  impressiveness  of  his  zeal  and  faith.  At  the 
end  he  said,  "  I  would  not  have  any  man  to  pray 
for  me  now,"  and  that  he  and  each  of  us  would 
utter  his  own  prayer  in  silence.  What  he  meant 
by  this  was  that  no  one  could  pray  in  his  stead. 
No  public  prayer  could  take  the  place  of  the  prayer 
which  each  of  us  would  frame  for  himself.  Whit- 
tier  says :  — 

"  Even  the  careless  heart  was  moved, 
And  the  doubting  gave  assent 
With  a  gesture  reverent 
To  the  Master  well  beloved. 


144  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

As  thin  mists  are  glorified 
By  the  light  they  cannot  hide, 
All  who  gazed  upon  him  saw, 
Through  its  veil  of  tender  awe, 
How  his  face  was  still  uplit 
By  the  old  sweet  look  of  it, 
Hopeful,  trustful,  full  of  cheer 
And  the  love  that  casts  out  fear." 

And  the  summer  went  on,  with  its  succession  of 
joyous  mornings,  beautiful  days,  and  calm  nights, 
with  every  charm  of  sea  and  sky ;  the  master  with 
us  all  day  long,  ever  ready  to  speak  words  of  help 
and  encouragement,  ever  ready  to  give  us  from  his 
own  stock  of  learning.  The  boundless  enthusiasm 
which  surrounded  him  like  an  atmosphere,  and 
which  sometimes  gave  the  appearance  of  great 
achievement  to  the  commonest  things,  was  never 
lacking.  He  was  always  an  optimist,  and  his 
strength  lay  largely  in  his  realization  of  the  value 
of  the  present  moment.  He  was  a  living  illustra- 
tion of  the  aphorism  of  Thoreau,  that  "  there  is  no 
hope  for  you  unless  the  bit  of  sod  under  your  feet 
is  the  sweetest  in  this  world  —  in  any  world."  The 
thing  he  had  in  hand  was  the  thing  worth  doing, 
and  the  men  about  him  were  the  men  worth  helping. 

He  was  always  picturesque  in  his  words  and  his 
work.  He  delighted  in  the  love  and  approbation 
of  his  students  and  his  friends,  and  the  influence  of 
his  personality  sometimes  gave  his  opinions  weight 
beyond  the  value  of  the  investigations  on  which 
they  were  based.  With  no  other  investigator  have 
the  work  and  the  man  been  so  identified  as  with 
Agassiz.  No  other  of  the  great  workers  has  been 
equally  great  as  a  teacher.  His  greatest  work  in 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  145 

science  was  his  influence  on  other  men.  He  was  a 
constant  stimulus  and  inspiration. 

In  an  old  note-book  of  those  days  I  find  frag- 
ments of  some  of  his  talks  to  teachers  at  Penikese. 
From  this  note-book  I  take  some  paragraphs,  just 
as  I  find  them  written  there :  — 

"  Never  try  to  teach  what  you  do  not  yourself 
know  and  know  well.  If  your  school  board  insist 
on  your  teaching  anything  and  everything,  decline 
firmly  to  do  it.  It  is  an  imposition  alike  on  pupils 
and  teacher  to  teach  that  which  he  does  not  know. 
Those  teachers  who  are  strong  enough  should 
squarely  refuse  to  do  such  work.  This  much- 
needed  reform  is  already  beginning  in  our  colleges, 
and  I  hope  it  will  continue.  It  is  a  relic  of  medi- 
aeval times,  this  idea  of  professing  everything. 
When  teachers  decline  work  which  they  cannot  do 
well,  improvements  begin  to  come  in.  If  one  would 
be  a  successful  teacher,  he  must  firmly  refuse  work 
which  he  cannot  do  well.  It  is  a  false  idea  to  sup- 
pose that  everybody  is  competent  to  learn  or  to 
teach  everything.  Would  our  great  artists  have 
succeeded  equally  well  in  Greek  or  calculus?  A 
smattering  of  everything  is  worth  little.  It  is  a 
fallacy  to  suppose  that  an  encyclopaedic  knowledge 
is  desirable.  The  mind  is  made  strong,  not  through 
much  learning,  but  by  the  thorough  possession  of 
something." 

"  Lay  aside  all  conceit.  Learn  to  read  the  book 
of  Nature  for  yourself.  Those  who  have  succeeded 
best  have  followed  for  years  some  slim  thread 
which  once  in  a  while  has  broadened  out  and  dis- 
closed some  treasure  worth  a  life-long  search." 

10 


I4<>  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

"  A  .man  cannot  be  professor  of  zoology  on  one 
day  and  of  chemistry  on  the  next,  and  do  good 
work  in  both.  As  in  a  concert  all  are  musicians,  — 
one  plays  one  .instrument,  and  one  another,  but 
none  all  in  perfection." 

"  You  cannot  do  without  one  specialty.  You 
must  have  some  base-line  to  measure  the  work  and 
attainments  of  others.  For  a  general  view  of  the 
subject,  study  the  history  of  the  sciences.  Broad 
knowledge  of  all  Nature  has  been  the  possession 
of  no  naturalist  except  Humboldt,  and  general 
relations  constituted  his  specialty." 

"  Select  such  subjects  that  your  pupils  cannot 
walk  out  without  seeing  them.  Train  your  pupils 
to  be  observers,  and  have  them  provided  with  the 
specimens  about  which  you  speak.  If  you  can 
find  nothing  better,  take  a  house-fly  or  a  cricket, 
and  let  each  one  hold  a  specimen  and  examine  it 
as  you  talk." 

"  In  1847  I  gave  an  address  at  Newton,  Mass., 
before  a  Teachers'  Institute  conducted  by  Horace 
Mann.  My  subject  was  grasshoppers.  I  passed 
around  a  large  jar  of  these  insects,  and  made  every 
teacher  take  one  and  hold  it  while  I  was  speaking. 
If  any  one  dropped  the  insect,  I  stopped  till  he 
picked  it  up.  This  was  at  that  time  a  great  inno- 
vation, and  excited  much  laughter  and  derision. 
There  can  be  no  true  progress  in  the  teaching 
of  natural  science  until  such  methods  become 
general." 

11  There  is  no  part  of  the  country  where  in  the 
summer  you  cannot  get  a  sufficient  supply  of  the 
best  specimens.  Teach  your  children  to  bring 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  147 

them  in  for  themselves.  Take  your  text  from  the 
brooks,  not  from  the  booksellers.  It  is  better  to 
have  a  few  forms  -well  known  than  to  teach  a  little 
about  many  hundred  species.  Better  a  dozen  speci- 
mens thoroughly  studied  as  the  result  of  the  first 
year's  work,  than  to  have  two  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  shells  and  corals  bought  from  a  curiosity- 
shop.  The  dozen  animals  would  be  your  own." 

"  You l  will  find  the  same  elements  of  instruction 
all  about  you  wherever  you  may  be  teaching.  You 
can  take  your  classes  out  and  give  them  the  same 
lessons,  and  lead  them  up  to  the  same  subjects  you 
are  yourselves  studying  here.  And  this  method 
of  teaching  children  is  so  natural,  so  suggestive,  so 
true.  That  is  the  charm  of  teaching  from  Nature 
herself.  No  one  can  warp  her  to  suit  his  own 
views.  She  brings  us  back  to  absolute  truth  as 
often  as  we  wander." 

"  The  study  of  Nature  is  an  intercourse  with  the 
highest  mind.  You  should  never  trifle  with  Nature. 
At  the  lowest  her  works  are  the  works  of  the  high* 
est  powers,  the  highest  something  in  whatever  way 
we  *nay  look  a$  it." 

"  A  laboratory  of  natural  history  is  a  sanctuary 
where  nothing  profane  should  be  tolerated.  I  feel 
less  agony  at  improprieties  in  churches  than  in  a 
scientific  laboratory/' 

"  In  Europe  I  have  been  accused  of  taking  my 
scientific  ideas  from  the  Church.  In  America  I 
have  been  called  a  heretic,  because  I  will  not  let 
my  church-going  friends  pat  me  on  the  head." 

1  In  this  paragraph,  quoted  by  Mrs.  Agassiz  (Life  and  Letters 
of  Agassiz,  p.  775),  I  have  adopted  the  wording  as  given  by  her. 


148  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Of  all  these  lectures  the  most  valuable  and  the 
most  charming  were  those  on  the  glaciers.  In 
these  the  master  spoke,  and  every  rock  on  our 
island  was  a  mute  witness  to  the  truth  of  his  words. 
Equally  charming  were  the  reminiscences  of  his 
early  life  and  of  his  fellow-workers  in  science, 
Schimper  and  Braun  in  Munich,  Valenciennes  and 
the  rest  in  Paris,  and  of  the  three  men  he  acknowl- 
edged as  masters,  Cuvier,  Humboldt,  and  Dollin- 
ger.  "  I  lived  at  Munich,"  he  once  said,  "  for 
three  years  under  Dr.  Dollinger's  roof,  and  my 
scientific  training  goes  back  to  him  and  to  him 
alone." 

He  often  talked  to  us  of  the  Darwinian  theory, 
to  which  in  all  its  forms  he  was  most  earnestly 
opposed.  Agassiz  was  essentially  an  idealist.  All 
his  investigations  were  to  him,  not  studies  of  ani- 
mals or  plants  as  such,  but  of  the  divine  plans  of 
which  their  structures  are  the  expression.  "  That 
earthly  form  was  the  cover  of  spirit  was  to  him  a 
truth  at  once  fundamental  and  self-evident."  The 
work  of  the  student  was  to  search  out  the  thoughts 
of  God,  and  as  well  as  may  be  to  think  them 
over  again.  To  Agassiz  these  divine  thoughts 
were  especially  embodied  in  the  relations  of  ani- 
mals to  each  other.  The  species  was  the  thought- 
unit,  the  individual  reproduction  of  the  thought  in 
the  divine  mind  at  the  moment  of  the  creation  of 
the  first  one  of  the  series  which  represents  the 
species.  The  marvel  of  the  affinity  of  structure  — 
of  unity  of  plan  in  creatures  widely  diverse  in 
habits  and  outward  appearance — was  to  him  a 
result  of  the  association  of  ideas  in  the  divine  mind, 


AGASSIZ  AT  PENIKESE.  149 

an  illustration  of  divine  many-sidedness.  To  Dar- 
win these  same  relations  would  illustrate  the  force 
of  heredity  acting  under  diverse  conditions  of 
environment.  The  sufficiency  of  his  own  philoso- 
phy Agassiz  never  doubted.  In  this  confidence  in 
his  own  mind  and  its  resources,  lay  much  of  his 
strength  and  his  weakness. 

Agassiz  had  no  sympathy  with  the  prejudices 
worked  upon  by  weak  and  foolish  men  in  opposi- 
tion to  Darwinism.  He  believed  in  the  absolute 
freedom  of  science ;  that  no  power  on  earth  can 
give  answers  beforehand  to  the  questions  which 
men  of  science  endeavor  to  solve.  Of  this  I  can 
give  no  better  evidence  than  the  fact  that  every 
one  of  the  men  specially  trained  by  him  has  joined 
the  ranks  of  the  evolutionists.  He  would  teach 
them  to  think  for  themselves,  not  to  think  as 
he  did. 

The  strain  of  the  summer  was  heavier  than  we 
knew.  Before  the  school  was  closed  for  the  season, 
those  who  were  nearest  him  felt  that  the  effort  was 
to  be  his  last.  His  physician  told  him  that  he  must 
not  work,  must  not  think.  But  all  his  life  he  had 
done  nothing  else.  To  stop  was  impossible,  for 
with  his  temperament  there  was  the  sole  choice 
between  activity  and  death. 

And  in  December  the  end  came.  In  the  words 
of  one  of  his  old  students,  Theodore  Lyman,  "  We 
buried  him  from  the  chapel  that  stands  among  the 
college  elms.  The  students  laid  a  wreath  of  laurel 
on  his  bier,  and  their  manly  voices  sang  a  requiem. 
For  he  had  been  a  student  all  his  life  long,  and 
when  he  died  he  was  younger  than  any  of  them." 


i:$O  SCI&NCE  SKETCHES. 

The  next  summer,  the  students  of  the  first  year 
came  together  at  Penikese,  and  many  eager  new 
men  were  with  them.  Notable  among  these  Were 
Herbert  E.  Copeland,  the  ichthyologist,  whose 
brilliant  record  was  soon  cut  short  by  death;  Wil- 
liam R.  Dudley,  the  botanist,  and  the  anatomist 
Balfour  H.  Van  Vleck.  Wise  and  skilful  teachers 
were  present;  but  Agassiz  was  not  there)  and  the 
sense  of  loss  was  felt  above  everything  else*  We- 
met  one  evening  in  the  lecture  hall,  and  each  one 
Said  the  best  that  he  could  of  the  Master.  The 
words  that  lasted  longest  with  us  were  these  of 
Samuel  Garman,  that  "he  was  the  best  friend  that 
ever  student  had."  There  could  be  no  truer  word 
nor  nobler  epitaph.  We  put  on  the  walls  these 
mottoes,  written  on  cloth,  and  taken  from  Agassiz's 
lectures : — 

STUDY  NATURE,  NOT  BOOKS. 

BE   NOT  AFRAID  TO   SAY,  "I  DO  NOT   KNOW." 

STRIVE  TO  INTERPRET  WHAT  REALLY  EXISTS. 

A   LABORATORY  is  A  SANCTUARY  WHICH    NOTHING    PROFANE 

SHOULD   ENTER. 

These  mottoes  remained  for  fifteen  years1  on  the 
walls  of  the  empty  building,  whence  they  were  car- 
ried as  precious  relics  to  the  Laboratory  at  Wood's 
Hole,  which  has  been  the  lineal  descendant  of  the 
school  at  Penikese. 

At  the  end  of  the  summer  the  authorities  of  the 
Museum  closed  the  doors  of  the  Anderson  School 
forever.  They2  had  no  choice  in  the  matter,  for 

1  This  is  given  on  the  authority  of  Dr.  Carl  H.  Eigenmann. 

2  Jules  Marcou  says  (Life,  Letters,  and  Works  of  Louis  Agas- 
siz, vol.  ii.  p.  207) :  "  The  Anderson  School  of  Natural  History 


A  GASSIZ  A  T  PEKINESE.  1 5  I1 

no  college  could  be  found  which  would  spare  the 
small  sum  needed  for  its  maintenance.  No  rich 
men  came  forward  as  others  had  done  in  the  past, 
men  who  would  not  stand  by  "  to  see  so  brave  a 
man  struggle  without  aid."  For  nearly  twenty 
years  the  buildings  stood  on  the  island  just  as  we 
had  left  them  in  1874;  an  old  sea-captain  in  charge 
of  them  until  the  winter  of  1891,  when  he  was 
drowned  in  a  storm.  A  year  or  two  later  the 
buildings  were  burned  to  the  ground,  perhaps  by 
lightning. 

But  while  the  island  of  Penikese  is  deserted,  the 
impulse  which  came  from  Agassiz's  work  there 
still  lives,  and  is  felt  in  every  field  of  American 
science.  With  all  appreciation  of  the  rich  streams 
which  in  late  years  have  come  to  us  from  many 
sources,  and  especially  from  the  deep  insight  and 
resolute  truthfulness  of  Germany,  it  is  still  true  that 
the  school  of  all  schools  which  has  had  most  influ- 

at  Penikese  Island  did  not  survive  long  after  Agassiz's  death. 
The  appeals  for  aid  addressed  by  Mr.  Alexander  Agassiz  to  the 
superintendents  of  public  institutions  and  presidents  of  State 
Boards  of  Education  of  the  several  States  did  not  find  the  ready 
response  necessary  for  the  support  of  the  school ;  and  the  Ander- 
son School  was  soon  a  thing  of  the  past.  But  if  its  existence  was 
ephemeral,  it  set  a  most  beneficial  example,  soon  followed  by  per- 
manent schools  of  the  same  sort  .  .  .  first  those  at  Wood's  Hole, 
Mass.,  one  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Fish  Commis- 
sion, the  other  directed  by  Mr.  C.  O.  Whitman;  second  one  at 
Annisquam,  and  afterwards  at  several  other  places  on  the  Atlan- 
tic and  Pacific  Coasts  under  the  direction  of  the  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  the  State  University  of  California,  and  the  Leland 
Stanford,  Jr.,  University,  while  Mr.  Alexander  Agassiz  .  .  .  has 
since  built  a  fine  laboratory  at  Castle  Hill  .  .  .  where  researches 
on  living  marine  animals  are  made  every  summer  under  his  direc- 
tion and  at  his  expense." 


152  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

ence  on  scientific  teaching  in  America,  was  held  in 
an  old  barn  on  an  uninhabited  island  some  eigh- 
teen miles  from  the  shore.  It  lasted  but  three 
months,  and  in  effect  it  had  but  one  teacher.  The 
school  at  Penikese  existed  in  the  personal  presence 
of  Agassiz ;  when  he  died,  it  vanished  ! 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  153 


AN   ECCENTRIC   NATURALIST. 

IT  is  now  nearly  seventy  years  since  the  first 
student  of  our  Western  fishes  crossed  the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio  and  stood  on  Indiana  soil.  He  came 
on  foot,  with  a  note-book  in  one  hand  and  a  hickory 
stick  in  the  other,  and  his  capacious  pockets  were 
full  of  wild-flowers,  shells,  and  toads.  He  wore 
"  a  long,  loose  coat  of  yellow  nankeen,  stained  yel- 
lower by  the  clay  of  the  roads,  and  variegated  by 
the  juices  of  plants."  In  short,  in  all  respects  of 
dress,  manners,  and  appearance,  he  would  be  de- 
scribed by  the  modern  name  of  "tramp."  Nev- 
ertheless, no  more  remarkable  figure  has  ever 
appeared  in  the  annals  of  Indiana  or  in  the  annals 
of  science.  To  me  it  has  always  possessed  a  pecu- 
liar interest ;  and  so,  for  a  few  moments,  I  wish  to 
call  up  before  you  the  figure  of  Rafinesque,  with  his 
yellow  nankeen  coat,  "  his  sharp  tanned  face,  and 
his  bundle  of  plants,  under  which  a  pedler  would 
groan,"  before  it  recedes  into  the  shadows  of 
oblivion. 

Constantine  Samuel  Rafinesque  was  born  in 
Constantinople  in  the  year  1784.  His  father  was 
a  French  merchant  from  Marseilles  doing  business 
in  Constantinople,  and  his  mother  was  a  German 
girl,  born  in  Greece,  of  the  family  name  of  Schmaltz. 
Rafinesque  himself,  son  of  a  Franco-Turkish  father 


154  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

and  a  Graeco-German  mother,  was  an  American. 
Before  he  was  a  year  old  his  life-long  travels  be- 
gan, his  parents  visiting  ports  of  Asia  and  Africa 
on  their  way  to  Marseilles.  As  a  result  of  this  trip, 
we  have  the  discovery,  afterward  characteristically 
announced  by  him  to  the  world,  that  "  infants  are 
not  subject  to  sea-sickness."  At  Marseilles  his 
future  career  was  determined  for  him ;  or,  in  his 
own  language :  "  It  was  among  the  flowers  and 
fruits  of  that  delightful  region  that  I  first  began  to 
enjoy  life,  and  I  became  a  botanist.  Afterward, 
the  first  prize  I  received  in  school  was  a  book  of 
animals,  and  I  am  become  a  zoologist  and  a  nat- 
^  uralist.  My  early  voyage  made  me  a  traveller. 
Thus,  some  accidents  or  early  events  have  an  in- 
fluence on  our  fate  through  life,  or  unfold  our 
inclinations."  1 

Rafinesque  read  books  of  travel;  those  of  Cap-  . 
tain  Cook,  Le  Vaillant,  and  Pallas  especially; 
and  his  soul  was  fired  with  the  desire  "  to  be  a 
great  traveller  like  them.  .  .  .  And  I  became 
such,"  he  adds  tersely.  At  the  age  of  eleven  he 
had  begun  an  herbarium,  and  had  learned  to  read 
the  Latin  in  which  scientific  books  of  the  last 
century  were  written.  "  I  never  was  in  a  regular 
college,"  he  says,  "nor  lost  my  time  on  dead  lan- 
guages ;  but  I  spent  it  in  reading  alone,  and  by 
reading  ten  times  more  than  is  read  in  the  schools. 
I  have  undertaken  to  read  the  Latin  and  Greek,  as 

1  This  and  most  of  the  other  verbal  quotations  in  this  paper 
are  taken  from  an  "  Autobiography  of  Rafinesque,"  of  which  a 
copy  exists  in  the  Library  of  Congress.  A  few  quotations  have 
been  somewhat  abridged. 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  1-55' 

well  as  the  Hebrew,  Sanskrit,  Chinese,  and  fifty 
other  languages,  as  I  felt  .the  need  or  inclination  to 
study  them."  At  the  age  of  twelve  he  published 
his  first  scientific  paper,  "  Notes  on  the  Apen- 
nines," as  seen  from  the  back  of  a  mule  on  a  jour- 
ney from  Leghorn  to  Genoa.  Rafinesque  was  now 
old  enough  to  choose  his  calling  in  life.  He  de- 
cided to  become  a  merchant ;  for,  said  he,  "  com- 
merce and  travel  are  linked."  At  this  time  came 
the  first  outbreaks  of  the  French  Revolution,  when 
the  peasants  of  Provence  began  to  dream  of  "  cas- 
tles on  fire  and  castles  combustible  ;"  so  Rafinesque's 
prudent  father  sent  his  money  out  of  France  and 
his  two  sons  to  America. 

In  Philadelphia,  Constantine  Rafinesque  became 
a  merchant's  clerk,  and  his  spare  time  was  devoted 
to  the  study  of  botany.  He  tried  also  to  study 
the  birds ;  but  he  says,  "  The  first  bird  I  shot  was  a 
poor  chickadee,  whose  death  appeared  a  cruelty, 
and  I  never  became  much  of  a  hunter."  During 
his  vacations  Rafinesque  travelled  on  foot  over 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.  He  visited 
President  Jefferson,  who,  he  tells  us,  asked  him  to 
call  again.  In  1805,  receiving  an  offer  of  business 
iii  Sicily,  Rafinesque  returned  to  Europe.  He 
spent  ten  years  in  Sicily,  —  the  land,  as  he  sums  it 
up,  "  of  fruitful  soil,  delightful  climate,  excellent 
productions,  perfidious  men,  and  deceitful  women." 
Here  in  Sicily  he  discovered  the  medicinal  squill, 
which,  aided  by  the  equally  medicinal  paregoric, 
was  once  a  great  specific  for  all  childish  ailments. 
He  commenced  gathering  this  in  large  quantities 
for  shipment  to  England  and  Russia.  The  Sici- 


156  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

lians  thought  that  he  was  using  it  as  a  dye-stuff; 
"  and  this,"  said  he,  *'  I  let  them  believe."  Nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  pounds  had  been  shipped 
by  him  before  the  secret  of  the  trade  was  discov- 
ered, since  which  time  the  Sicilians  have  prose- 
cuted the  business  on  their  own  account.  He 
began  to  turn  his  attention  to  the  animals  of  the 
sea,  and  here  arose  his  passion  for  ichthyology. 
The  red-shirted  Sicilian  fishermen  used  to  bring 
to  him  the  strange  creatures  which  came  in  their 
nets.  In  1810  he  published  two  works  on  the 
fishes  of  Sicily,  and  for  our  first  knowledge  of 
very  many  of  the  Mediterranean  fishes  we  are  in- 
debted to  these  Sicilian  papers  of  Rafinesque.  It 
is  unfortunately  true,  however,  that  very  little  real 
gain  to  science  has  come  through  this  knowledge. 
Rafinesque's  descriptions  in  these  works  are  so 
brief,  so  hasty,  and  so  often  drawn  from  memory, 
that  later  naturalists  have  been  put  to  great  trouble 
in  trying  to  make  them  out.  A  peculiar,  restless, 
impatient  enthusiasm  is  characteristic  of  all  his 
writings, —  the  ardor  of  the  explorer  without  the 
patience  of  the  investigator.1 

In  Sicily,  Rafinesque  was  visited  by  the  English 
ornithologist,  William  Swainson.  Swainson  seems 
to  have  been  a  great  admirer  of  "  the  eccentric 
naturalist,"  as  he  called  him.  Of  him  Rafinesque 
says :  "  Swainson  often  went  with  me  to  the  moun- 
tains. He  carried  a  butterfly-net  to  catch  insects 

1  Dr.  Elliott  Coues  has  wittily  suggested  that  as  the  words 
"grotesque,"  "picturesque,"  and  the  like,  are  used  to  designate  cer- 
tain literary  styles,  the  adjective  "  rafin^w"  may  be  similarly  em- 
ployed for  work  like  that  of  the  author  now  under  consideration. 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  157 

with,  and  was  taken  for  a  crazy  man  or  a  wizard. 
As  he  hardly  spoke  Italian,  I  had  once  to  save 
him  from  being  stoned  out  of  a  field,  where  he  was 
thought  to  seek  a  treasure  buried  by  the  Greeks." 
Rafinesque  now  invented  a  new  way  of  distilling 
brandy.  He  established  a  brandy-distillery,  where, 
said  he,  "  I  made  a  very  good  brandy,  equal  to 
any  made  in  Spain,  without  ever  tasting  a  drop  of 
it,  since  I  hate  all  strong  liquors.  This  prevented 
me  from  relishing  this  new  employment,  and  so  I 
gave  it  up  after  a  time." 

Finally,  disgust  with  the  Sicilians  and  fear  of 
the  French  wars  caused  Rafinesque,  who  was,  as 
he  says,  "  a  peaceful  man,"  to  look  again  toward 
the  United  States.  In  1815  he  sailed  again  for 
America,  with  all  his  worldly  goods,  including  his 
reams  of  unpublished  manuscripts,  his  bushels  of 
shells,  and  a  multitude  of  drawings  of  objects  in 
natural  history.  According  to  his  own  account, 
the  extent  of  his  collections  at  that  time  was  enor- 
mous, and  from  the  great  number  of  scattered 
treatises  on  all  manner  of  subjects  which  he  pub- 
lished in  later  years,  whenever  he  could  get  them 
printed,  it  is  fair  to  suppose  that  his  pile  of  manu- 
scripts was  equally  great.  A  considerable  number 
of  his  note-books,  and  of  papers  for  which,  fortu- 
nately for  scientific  nomenclature,  he  failed  to  find 
a  publisher,  are  now  preserved  in  the  United  States 
National  Museum.  These  manuscripts  are  remark- 
able for  two  things,  —  the  beauty  of  the  quaint 
French  penmanship,  and  the  badness  of  the  ac- 
companying drawings.  His  numerous  note-books, 
written  in  French,  represent  each  the  observations 


158  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

of  a  busy  summer;  and  these  observations,  for 
the  most  part  unchecked  by  the  comparison  of 
specimens,  he  prepared  for  the  press  during  the 
winter.  To  this  manner  of  working,  perhaps  un- 
avoidable in  his  case,  many  of  Rafinesque's  errors 
and  blunders  are  certainly  due.  In  one  of  these 
note-books  I  find,  among  a  series  of  notes  in 
French,  the  following  remarkable  observation  i^i 
English:  "T/ie  girls  at  Fort  Edward  eat  clay!" 
In  another  place  I  find  ,a  list  of  the  new  genera  of 
fishes  in  Cuvier's  "  Regne  Animal"  (1817)  which 
were  known  to  him.  Many  of  these  are  designated 
as  synonymous  with  genera  proposed  by  Rafi- 
nesque in  his  "  Caratteri "  in  1810.  With  this  list 
is  the  remark  that  these  genera  of  Cuvier  are  iden- 
tical with  such  and  such  genera  "  proposed  by  me 
in  1810,  but  don't  you  tell  it!  " 

Rafinesque  was  six  months  on  the  ocean  in  this 
second  voyage  to  America.  Finally,  just  as  the 
ship  was  entering  Long  Island  Sound,  the  pilot  let 
her  drift  against  one  of  the  rocks  which  lie  outside 
of  the  harbor  of  New  London.  The  vessel  filled 
and  sank,  giving  the  passengers  barely  time  to 
escape  with  their  lives.  "  I  reached  New  London 
at  midnight,"  says  Rafinesque,  "  in  a  most  deplora- 
ble situation.  I  had  lost  everything,  —  my  fortune, 
my  share  in  the  cargo,  my  collections  and  labors 
of  twenty  years  past,  my  books,  my  manuscripts, 
and  even  my  clothes,  —  all  I  possessed,  except 
some  scattered  funds  and  some  little  insurance- 
money.  Some  hearts  of  stone  have  since  dared 
to  doubt  of  these  facts,  or  rejoice  at  my  losses. 
Yes,  I  have  found  men  vile  enough  to  laugh  with- 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  159 

out  shame  at  my  misfortunes,  instead  of  condoling 
with  me.  But  I  have  met  also  with  friends  who 
have  deplored  my  loss  and  helped  me  in  need." 
.  I  shall  pass  rapidly  over  Rafinesque's  career 
until  his  settlement  in  Kentucky.  He  travelled 
widely  in  America,  in  the  summer,  always  on  foot. 
"  Horses  were  offered  to  me,"  he  said,  "  but  I 
never  liked  riding  them,  and  dismounting  for 
every  flower.  Horses  do  not  suit  botanists."  He 
now  came  westward,  following  the  course  of  the 
Ohio,  and  exploring  for  the  first  time  the  botany 
of  the  country.  \He  came  to  Indiana,  and  for  a 
short  time  was  associated  with  the  community 
then  lately  established  by  Owen  and  Maclure  at 
New  Harmony  on  the  Wabash.  Though  this 
New  Harmony  experiment  was  a  failure,  as  all 
communities  must  be  in  which  the  drone  and  the 
worker  alike  have  access  to  the  honey-cells,  yet 
the  debt  due  it  from  American  science  is  very 
great.  Although  far  in  the  backwoods,  and  in 
the  long  notorious  county  of  Posey,  New  Harmony 
was  for  a  time  fairly  to  be  called  the  centre  of 
American  science ;  and  even  after  half  a  century 
has  gone  by  its  rolls  bear  few  names  brighter  than 
those  of  Thomas  Say,  David  Dale  Owen,  and 
Charles  Albert  Le  Sueur. 

Rafinesque  soon  left  New  Harmony,  and  became 
Professor  of  Natural  History  and  the  Modern  Lan- 
guages in  Transylvania  University,  at  Lexington, 
Kentucky.  He  was,  I  believe,  the  very  first 
teacher  of  natural  history  in  the  West,  and  his 
experiences  were  not  more  cheerful  than  those 
of  most  pioneers.  They  would  not  give  him  at 


l6o  SCIENCE  SKETCPIES. 

Lexington  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  he  says, 
"  because  I  had  not  studied  Greek  in  a  college, 
although  I  knew  more  languages  than  all  the 
American  colleges  united.  But  it  was  granted  at 
last;  but  that  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was  not 
granted,  because  I  would  not  superintend  ana- 
tomical dissections."  He  continues  :  — 

"  Mr.  Holley,  the  president  of  the  university,  despised 
and  hated  the  natural  sciences,  and  he  wished  to  drive 
me  out  altogether.  To  evince  his  hatred  against  science 
and  its  discoveries,  he  had  broken  open  my  rooms  in  my 
absence,  given  one  to  the  students,  and  thrown  all  my 
effects,  books,  and  collections  into  the  other.  He  had 
deprived  me  of  my  situation  as  librarian,  and  tried  to  turn 
me  out  of  the  college.  I  took  lodgings  in  town,  and  car- 
ried there  all  my  effects,  leaving  the  college  with  curses 
both  on  it  and  Holley,  which  reached  them  both  soon 
after ;  for  Holley  died  of  the  yellow  fever  in  New  Orleans 
and  the  college  was  burned  with  all  its  contents." 

In  one  of  his  summer  trips  Rafinesque  became 
acquainted  with  Audubon,  who  was  then  painting 
birds  and  keeping  a  little  "  grocery-store "  down 
the  river,  at  Henderson,  Kentucky.  Rafinesque 
reached  Henderson  in  a  boat,  carrying  on  his  back 
a  bundle  of  plants  which  resembled  dried  clover. 
He  accidentally  met  Audubon,  and  asked  him  to 
tell  him  where  the  naturalist  lived.  The  ornithol- 
ogist introduced  himself,  and  Rafinesque  handed 
him  a  letter  from  a  friend  in  the  East,  commending 
him  to  Audubon  as  an  "  odd  fish,  which  might  not 
be  described  in  the  published  treatises."  The  story 
of  the  interview  is  thus  described  by  Audubon: 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NA  TURALIST.  \  6 1 

"  His  attire  struck  me  as  exceedingly  remarkable.  A 
long,  loose  coat  of  yellow  nankeen,  much  the  worse  for 
the  many  rubs  it  had  got  in  its  time,  hung  about  him 
loosely,  like  a  sack.  A  waistcoat  of  the  same,  with  enor- 
mous pockets  and  buttoned  up  to  the  chin,  reached  below 
over  a  pair  of  tight  pantaloons,  the  lower  part  of  which 
was  buttoned  down  over  his  ankles.  His  beard  was  long, 
and  his  lank  black  hair  hung  loosely  over  his  shoulders. 
His  forehead  was  broad  and  prominent,  indicating  a  mind 
of  strong  power.  His  words  impressed  an  assurance  of 
rigid  truth ;  and  as  he  directed  the  conversation  to  the 
natural  sciences,  I  listened  to  him  with  great  delight. 

"  That  night,  after  we  were  all  abed,  I  heard  of  a  sudden 
a  great  uproar  in  the  naturalist's  room.  I  got  up  and 
opened  the  door,  when  to  my  astonishment  I  saw  my 
guest  running  naked,  holding  the  handle  of  my  favorite 
Cremona,  the  body  of  which  he  had  battered  to  pieces  in 
attempting  to  kill  the  bats  which  had  entered  the  open 
window  !  I  stood  amazed ;  but  he  continued  jumping 
and  running  around  and  around  till  he  was  fairly  exhausted, 
when  he  begged  me  to  procure  one  of  the  animals  for  him, 
as  he  felt  convinced  that  they  belonged  to  a  new  species. 
Although  I  was  convinced  of  the  contrary,  I  took  up  the 
bow  of  my  demolished  violin,  and  giving  a  smart  tip  to  each 
bat  as  it  came  up,  we  soon  had  specimens  enough." 

A  part  of  the  story  of  this  visit,  which  Audubon 
does  not  tell,  may  be  briefly  related  here :  Audubon 
was  a  great  artist,  and  his  paintings  of  birds  and 
flowers  excited  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  Rafi- 
nesque,  as  it  has  that  of  the  generations  since  his 
time.  But  Audubon  was  something  of  a  wag 
withal,  and  some  spirit  of  mischief  led  him  to 
revenge  the  loss  of  his  violin  on  the  too  ready 
credulity  of  his  guest.  He  showed  him  gravely 

ii 


1 62  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

some  ten  grotesque  drawings  of  impossible  fishes 
which  he  had  observed  "  down  the  river,"  with 
notes  on  their  habits,  and  a  list  of  the  names  by 
which  they  were  known  by  the  French  and  English 
settlers.  These  Rafinesque  duly  copied  into  his 
note-books,  and  later  he  published  descriptions 
of  them  as  representatives  of  new  genera,  such  as 
Pogostoma,  Aplocentrus,  Litholepis,  Pilodictis,  Po- 
macampsis,  and  the  like. 

.  These  singular  genera,  so  like  and  yet  so  unlike 
to  anything  yet  known,  have  been  a  standing  puzzle 
to  students  of  fishes.  Various  attempts  at  identi- 
fication of  them  have  been  made,  but  in  no  case 
have  satisfactory  results  been  reached.  Many  of 
the  hard  things  which  have  been  said  of  Rafi- 
nesque's  work  rest  on  these  unlucky  genera,1  "  com- 
municated to  me  by  Mr.  Audubon."  The  true 
story  of  this  practical  joke  was  told  me  by  the 
venerable  Dr.  Kirtland,  who  in  turn  received  it 
from  Dr.  Bachman,  the  brother-in-law  and  scientific 
associate  of  Audubon.  In  the  private  note-books 
of  Rafinesque  I  have  since  found  his  copies  of 
these  drawings,  and  a  glance  at  these  is  sufficient 
to  show  the  extent  to  which  science  through  him 
has  been  victimized. 

About  this  time  Rafinesque  turned  his  mind 
again  toward  invention.  He  invented  the  present 
arrangement  of  coupon  bonds,  or,  as  he  called  it, 
"  the  divitial  invention."  Savings-banks  were  pro- 

1  I  am  informed  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Allen  that  there  are  also  some 
unidentified  genera  of  herons,  similarly  described  by  Rafinesque 
from  drawings  kindly  shown  him  by  Mr.  Audubon.  Apparently 
these  also  date  from  the  same  unlucky  practical  joke. 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  163 

jected  by  him,  as  well  as  "  steam  ploughs,"  "  aquatic 
railroads,"  fire-proof  houses,  and  other  contrivances 
which  he  was  unable  to  perfect.  He  took  much 
delight  in  the  study  of  the  customs  and  languages 
of  the  Indians.  In  so  doing,  if  the  stories  are 
true,  he  became,  in  a  way,  associated  with  the  ori- 
gin of  Mormonism ;  for  it  is  said  that  his  theory 
that  the  Indians  came  from  Asia  by  way  of  Siberia, 
and  were  perhaps  the  descendants  of  the  ten  lost 
tribes  of  Israel,  gave  the  first  suggestion  to  Solo- 
mon Spaulding  for  his  book  of  the  prophet  Mor- 
mon. In  any  case,  whether  this  be  true  or  not, 
it  is  certain  that  Rafinesque  is  still  cited  as  high 
authority  by  the  Latter-Day  Saints  when  the  gen- 
uineness of  the  book  of  Mormon  is  questioned. 

Rafinesque  now  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and 
published  "  The  Atlantic  Journal  and  Friend  of 
Knowledge,"  "  Annals  of  Nature,"  and  other  seri- 
als, of  which  he  was  editor,  publisher,  and  usually 
sole  contributor.  After  a  time  he  became  sole  sub- 
scriber, also,  —  a  condition  of  affairs  which  greatly 
exasperated  him  against  the  Americans  and  their 
want  of  appreciation  of  science.  He  published 
several  historical  treatises,  and  contemplated  a 
"  Complete  History  of  the  Globe,"  with  all  its  con- 
tents. An  elaborate  poem  of  his,  dreary  enough, 
is  entitled  "  The  World  ;  or,  Instability."  He  made 
many  enemies  among  the  American  botanists  of 
his  time  by  his  overbearing  ways,  his  scorn  of 
their  customs  and  traditions,  and  especially  by  his 
advocacy  of  crude  and  undigested  though  neces- 
sary, reforms,  so  that  at  last  most  of  them  decided 
to  ignore  his  very  existence.  In  those  days,  in 


1 64  SCIENCE  SKETCHES, 

matters  of  classification,  the  rule  of  Linnaeus  was 
supreme,  and  any  effort  to  recast  his  artificial 
groupings  was  looked  at  as  heretical  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  attempt  at  a  natural  classification  of 
plants,  which  has  made  the  fame  of  Jussieu,  had 
the  full  sympathy  of  Rafinesque  ;  but  to  his  Ameri- 
can contemporaries  such  work  could  lead  only  to 
confusion.  Then,  again,  in  some  few  of  its  phases, 
Rafinesque  anticipated  the  mode/n  doctrine  of  the 
origin  of  species.  That  the  related  species  of  such 
genera  as  Rosa,  Quercus,  Trifolium,  have  had  a 
common  origin.  —  a  view  the  correctness  of  which 
no  well-informed  botanist  of  out  day  can  possibly 
doubt,  —  Rafinesque  then  maintained  against  the 
combined  indignation  and  disgust  of  all  his  fellow- 
workers.  His  writings  on  these  subjects  read  bet- 
ter to-day  than  when,  forty-fjye  years  ago,  they 
were  sharply  reviewed  by  one  :of  our  then  young 
and  promising  botanists,  Dr.  A st^  Gray. 

But  the  botanists  had  good  reason  to  complain 
of  the  application  of  Rafinesque's  theories  of  evo- 
lution. To  him,  the  production  of  a  new  species 
was  a  rapid  process,  —  a  hundred  years  was  time 
enough,  —  and  when  he  saw  the  tendency  in  di- 
verging varieties  toward  the  formation  of  new 
species,  he  was  eager  to  anticipate  Nature  (and 
his  fellow-botanists  as  well),  and  give  it  a  new 
name.  He  became  a  monomaniac  on  the  subject 
of  new  species.  He  was  uncontrolled  in  this 
matter  by  the  influence  of  other  writers,  —  that 
incredulous  conservatism  as  to  another's  discov- 
eries which  furnishes  a  salutary  balance  to  enthu- 
siastic workers.  Before  his  death  so  much  had 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  165 

he  seen,  and  so  little  had  he  compared,  that  he 
had  described  certainly  twice  as  many  fishes,  and 
probably  nearly  twice  as  many  plants  and  shells, 
as  really  existed  in  the  regions  over  which  he  trav- 
elled. He  once  sent  for  publication  a  paper  seri- 
ously describing,  in  regular  natural  history  style, 
twelve  new  species  of  thunder  and  lightning  which 
he  had  observed  near  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio. 

Then,  too,  Rafinesque  studied  in  the  field,  col- 
lecting and  observing  in  the  summer,  comparing 
and  writing  in  the  winter.  When  one  is  chasing  a 
frog  in  a  canebrake,  or  climbing  a  cliff  in  search  of 
a  rare  flower,  he  cannot  have  a  library  and  a  mu- 
seum at  his  back.  The  exact  work  of  our  modern 
museums  and  laboratories  was  almost  unknown  in 
his  day.  Then,  again,  he  depended  too  much 
on  his  memory  for  facts  and  details;  and,  as  Pro- 
fessor Agassiz  used  to  say,  "the  memory  must  not 
be  kept  too  full,  or  it  will  spill  over." 

Thus  it  came  about  that  the  name  and  work  of 
Rafinesque  fell  into  utter  neglect.  His  writings, 
scattered  here  and  there  in  small  pamphlets,  cheap 
editions  published  at  his  own  expense,  had  been 
sold  as  paper  rags,  or  used  to  kindle  fires  by  those 
to  whom  they  were  sent,  and  later  authors  could 
not  find  them.  His  "  Ichthyologia  Ohiensis," 
once  sold  for  a  dollar,  is  now  quoted  at  fifty  dol- 
lars/and.the  present  writer  has  seen  but  two  copies 
of  it.  In  the  absence  of  means  to  form  a  just 
opinion  of  his  work,  it  became  the  habit  to  pass 
him  by  with  a  sneer,  as  the  "  inspired  idiot  .  .  . 
whose  fertile  imagination  has  peopled  the  waters 
of  the  Ohio."  Until  lately,  only  Professor  Agas- 


1 66  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

siz l  has  said  a  word  in  mitigation  of  the  harsh  ver- 
dict passed  on  Rafinesque  by  his  fellow-workers 
and  their  immediate  successors.  Agassiz  says, 
very  justly:  — 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  Rafinesque  was  a  better  man  than 
he  appeared.  His  misfortune  was  his  prurient  desire  for 
novelties,  and  his  rashness  in  publishing  them.' .  .  .  Trac- 
ing his  course  as  a  naturalist  during  his  residence  in  this 
country,  it  is  plain  that  he  alarmed  those  with  whom  he 
had  intercourse,  by  his  innovations,  and  that  they  pre- 
ferred to  lean  upon  the  authority  of  the  great  naturalist 
of  the  age  [Cuvier],  who,  however,  knew  little  of  the 
special  history  of  the  country,  rather  than  to  trust  a  some- 
what hasty  man  who  was  living  among  them,  and  who  had 
collected  a  vast  amount  of  information  from  all  parts  of 
the  States  upon  a  variety  of  subjects  then  entirely  new  to 


In  a  sketch  of  "  A  Neglected  Naturalist,"  Pro- 
fessor Herbert  E.  Copeland  has  said :  — 

"  To  many  of  our  untiring  naturalists,  who  sixty  years 
ago  accepted  the  perils  and  privations  of  the  far  West,  to 
collect  and  describe  its  animals  and  plants,  we  have  given 
the  only  reward  they  sought,  —  a  grateful  remembrance  of 
their  work.  Audubon  died  full  of  riches  and  honor,  with 
the  knowledge  that  his  memory  would  be  cherished  as 
long  as  birds  should  sing.  Wilson  is  the  '  father  of  Amer- 
ican ornithology,'  and  his  mistakes  and  faults  are  forgotten 

1  So  early  as  1844,  Professor  Agassiz  wrote  to  Charles  Lucien 
Bonaparte :  "  I  think  that  there  is  a  justice  due  to  Rafinesque. 
However  poor  his  descriptions,  he  first  recognized  the  necessity 
of  multiplying  genera  in  ichthyology,  and  this  at  a  time  when  the 
thing  was  far  more  difficult  than  now." 

2  Agassiz,  American  Journal,  of  Science  and  Arts,  1854,  p  354. 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  l6/ 

in  our  admiration  of  his  great  achievements.  Le  Sueur  is 
remembered  as  the  'first  to  explore  the  ichthyology  of 
the  great  American  lakes.  Laboring  with  these,  and 
greatest  of  them  all  in  respect  to  the  extent  and  range 
of  his  accomplishments,  is  one  whose  name  has  been 
nearly  forgotten,  and  who  is  oftenest  mentioned  in  the 
field  of  his  best  labors  with  pity  or  contempt."  * 

It  is  doubtless  true  that  while,  as  Professor 
Agassiz  has  said,  Rafinesque  "  was  a  better  man 
than  he  appeared,"  and  while  he  was  undoubtedly 
a  man  of  great  learning  and  of  greater  energy,  his 
work  does  not  deserve  a  high  place  in  the  records 
of  science.  And  his  failure  seems  due  to  two 
things :  first,  his  lack  of  attention  to  details,  a 
defect  which  has  vitiated  all  of  his  work;  and, 
second,  his  versatility,  which  led  him  to  attempt 
work  in  every  field  of  learning.  As  to  this,  he 
says  himself:  — 

"  It  is  a  positive  fact  that  in  knowledge  I  have  been  a 
botanist,  naturalist,  geologist,  geographer,  historian,  poet, 
philosopher,  philologist,  economist,  philanthropist.  By 
profession  a  traveller,  merchant,  manufacturer,  brewer, 
collector,  improver,  teacher,  surveyor,  draughtsman,  archi- 
tect, engineer,  pulmist,  author,  editor,  bookseller,  libra- 
rian, secretary,  and  I  hardly  know  what  I  may  not 
become  as  yet,  since,  whenever  I  apply  myself  to  any- 
thing which  I  like,  I  never  fail  to  succeed,  if  depending 
on  myself  alone,  unless  impeded  or  prevented  by  the  lack 
of  means,  or  the  hostility  of  the  foes  of  mankind." 

But  a  traveller  Rafinesque  chiefly  considered 
himself;  and  to  him  all  his  pursuits,  scientific,  lin- 
guistic, historical,  were  but  episodes  in  a  life  of 

1  American  Naturalist,  1876. 


1 68  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

travel.      Two  lines  of  doggerel  French  were    his 
motto :  — 

"Un  voyageur  des  le  berceau, 
Je  le  serai  jusqu'au  tombeau  " 

"A  traveller  from  the  cradle, 
I  'm  a  traveller  to  the  tomb." 

Long  before  the  invention  of  railroads  and 
steamboats  he  had  travelled  over  most  of  south- 
ern Europe  and  eastern  North  America.  With- 
out money  except  as  he  earned  it,  he  had  gathered 
shells  and  plants  and  fishes  on  every  shore  from 
the  Hellespont  to  the  Wabash. 

Concerning  one  element  of.Rafinesque's  charac- 
ter I  am  able  to  find  no  record.  If  he  ever  loved 
any  man  or  woman,  except  as  a  possible  patron 
and  therefore  aid  to  his  schemes  of  travel,  he  him- 
self gives  no  record  of  it.  He  speaks  kindly  of 
Audubon;  but  Audubon  had  furnished  him  with 
specimens  and  paintings  of  flowers  and  fishes. 
He  speaks  generously  of  Clifford,  at  Lexington ; 
but  Clifford  had  given  him  an  asylum  when  he 
was  turned  out  of  Transylvania  University.  No 
woman  is  mentioned  in  his  Autobiography  except 
his  mother  and  sister,  and  these  but  briefly.  His 
own  travels,  discoveries,  and  publications  filled 
his  whole  mind  and  soul. 

Rafinesque  died  in  Philadelphia,  in  1840,  at  the 
age  of  fifty-six.  He  had  been  living  obscurely  in 
miserable  lodgings;  for  his  dried  plants,  and  his 
books  published  at  his  own  expense,  brought  him 
but  a  scanty  income.  His  scientific  reputation 
had  not  reached  his  fellow-lodgers,  and  his  land- 
lord thought  him  "  a  crazy  herb-doctor."  He  died 


AN  ECCENTRIC  NATURALIST.  169 

alone,  and  left  no  salable  assets ;  and  his  landlord 
refused  to  allow  his  friends  —  such  friends  as  he 
had — to  enter  the  house  to  give  him  a  decent 
burial.  He  wished  to  make  good  the  unpaid 
rent  by  selling  the  body  to  a  medical  college ; 
but  at  night,  so  the  story  goes,  a  physician  who 
had  studied  botany  with  Rafinesque  got  a  few 
friends  together,  and  broke  into  the  garret  and 
carried  a\vay  the  body,  which  they  buried  in  a 
little  churchyard  outside  the  city  limits,  now. oblit- 
erated by  the  growth  of  Philadelphia. 

American  naturalists  have  greater  honor  now 
than  forty  years  ago.  Rafinesque  died  unnoticed, 
and  was  buried  only  by  stealth.  A  whole  nation 
wept  for  Agassiz.  But  a  difference  was  in  the 
men  as  well  as  in  the  times.  Both  were  great 
naturalists  and  learned  men.  Both  had  left  high 
reputations  in  Europe  to  cast  their  lot  with  Amer- 
ica. Agassiz's  great  heart  went  out  toward  every 
one  with  whom  he  came  in  contact ;  but  Rafi- 
nesque loved  no  man  or  woman,  and  died,  as  he 
had  lived,  alone.  If  some  one  who  loved  him  had 
followed  him  to  the  last,  it  might  have  been  with 
Rafinesque  as  with  Albrecht  Diirer:  "  '  Emigravit* 
is  the  inscription  on  the  headstone  where  he  lies." 
But  there  was  no  one  ;  and  there  is  neither  head- 
stone nor  inscription,  and  we  know  not  even  the 
place  where  he  rests  after  his  long  journey. 

Rafinesque's  last  recorded  words  were  these: 
"  Time  renders  justice  to  all  alike."  And  to  the 
justice  of  Time  we  may  leave  him. 


i;0  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 


A   CUBAN   FISHERMAN. 

"  A  H,  but  you  must  see  Don  Felipe,  —  he  knows 
£\.  all  about  fishes !  "  is  the  first  advice  which 
the  naturalist  receives  when  he  begins  to  make  col- 
lections of  fishes  in  the  markets  of  Havana.  The 
writer  once  had  occasion  to  make  such  a  collec- 
tion, and  he  soon  found  that  among  fishermen 
and  fishmongers  the  phrase  "  amigo  de  Don 
Felipe  "  was  ever  a  passport  to  honest  dealing  and 
to  a  real  desire  to  aid  him  in  his  work.  For  every 
fisherman  in  Havana  knows  Don  Felipe,  and 
looks  upon  him  as  a  personal  friend.  Each  one 
regards  the  fame  which  Don  Felipe's  studies  of  the 
fishes  is  vaguely  understood  to  have  brought  him 
in  that  little-known  world  outside  of  Havana  as  in 
some  sort  reflected  on  himself.  The  wrriter  was 
told,  by  a  dealer  in  the  Pescaderia  Grande,  that 
for  twenty  years  Don  Felipe  Poey  was  there  in  the 
markets  every  day,  when  at  noon  the  fishes  came 
in  from  the  boats,  and  that  he  knew  more  about  the 
fishes  of  Cuba  than  even  the  fishermen  themselves. 
And  now  that  Don  Felipe  no  longer  visits  the 
markets,  he  is  not  forgotten  there,  and  many  a 
rare  specimen  still  finds  its  way  from  the  Pesca- 
deria to  Don  Felipe's  study  in  the  Calle  San 
Nicolas. 


A    CUBAN  FISHERMAN.  1 71 

Felipe  Poey  y  Aloy  was  born  in  Havana,  May  26, 
1799.  His  father  was  French,  his  mother  Spanish ; 
but  Poey  early  renounced  his  French  citizenship 
for  that  of  Cuba.  His  education  was  received  in 
Havana,  and  after  studying  law  he  became,  in 
1823,  an  advocate  in  that  city.  But  his  tastes  lay 
in  the  direction  of  natural  history,  and  for  this 
he  gradually  abandoned  his  practice  as  a  lawyer. 
Very  early  he  had  made  discoveries  of  mollusks, 
insects,  and  especially  of  fishes,  which  were  new 
to  science.  In  1825  he  was  married  to  Maria  de 
Jesus  Aguirre,  a  very  intelligent  lady  who  is  still 
the  companion  of  his  studies.  In  1826  he  sailed 
for  Paris,  taking  with  him  eighty-five  drawings  of 
Cuban  fishes  and  a  collection  of  thirty-five  species, 
preserved  in  a  barrel  of  brandy.  These  drawings 
and  specimens  he  placed  at  the  service  of  Cuvier 
and  Valenciennes,  who  were  then  beginning  the 
publication  of  their  work  on  the  "  Natural  History 
of  the  Fishes."  The  notes  and  drawings  of  Poey 
proved  of  much  service  to  the  great  ichthyologists. 
A  few  new  species  were  based  on  them,  and  Poey 
had  the  satisfaction  of  finding  his  own  name  and 
observations  cited  by  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes 
even  more  frequently  than  those  of  his  famous 
predecessor,  Don  Antonio  Parra,1  who  had  pub- 
lished, in  1787,  the  first  account  of  the  Fishes  of 
Cuba.2  A  set  of  duplicates  of  these  notes  and 
drawings  is  still  retained  by  Professor  Poey.  While 

1  Y  tuve  el  honor  de  ser  citado  por  el  (Cuvier)  y  por  su  co- 
laborador  Valenciennes,   mas    frecuentemente    que    D.   Antonio 
Parra.  —  POEY. 

2  Diferentes  Piezas  de  Historia  Natural  de  la  Isla  de  Cuba. 


172  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

in  Paris,  Poey  was  one  of  the  original  members  who 
founded  the  Entomological  Society  of  France. 

On  returning  to  Havana  in  1833,  Poey  gave 
himself  still  more  fully  to  the  study  of  natural  his- 
tory, and  greater  practice  gave  to  his  drawings 
and  notes  more  exactness  and  value.  With  the 
appearance  of  the  successive  volumes  of  the  "His- 
toire  Naturelle  des  Poissons,"  he  attempted  to  iden- 
tify the  fishes  of  his  market,  as  well  as  to  study 
their  osteology  and  general  anatomy.  Animals 
other  than  fishes  he  also  tried  to  study,  but  in 
most  groups  he  found  the  literature  in  so  scattered 
and  unsatisfactory  a  condition  that  he  rarely  ven- 
tured to  publish  the  results  of  his  observations. 
Among  the  fishes,  however,  thanks  to  the  general 
work  of  Cuvier  and  Valenciennes,  and  later  to  that 
of  Dr.  Giinther,  he  felt  comparatively  sure  of  his 
results,  and  ventured  to  name  as  new  those  which 
he  could  not  identify.  The  land-snails  of  Cuba, 
too,  Poey  and  his  associate,  Dr.  Juan  Gundlach, 
were  able  to  identify  and  describe  with  certainty, 
as  all  the  species  then  known  were  included  in  the 
M  Monographium  Heliceorum  Viventium  "  of  Dr. 
Ludwig  Pfeiffer. 

In  the  year  1842  Poey  was  appointed  to  the  pro- 
fessorship of  Comparative  Anatomy  and  Zoology 
in  the  Royal  University  of  Havana,  which  chair  he 
still  holds,  after  forty-five  years.  The  University 
of  Havana  occupies  an  ancient  monastery  building 
in  the  heart  of  the  city.  Like  most  such  edifices 
in  Cuba  and  Spain,  it  is  a  low  building  around 
a  paved  court,  and  its  whitewashed,  time-stained 
walls  have  an  air  of  great  antiquity.  The  univer- 


A    CUBAN  FISHERMAN.  173 

sity  has  now  some  twelve  hundred  students,  the 
great  majority  of  whom  are  in  those  departments 
which  lead  toward  wealth,  or  social  or  political  pre- 
ferment, as  law,  medicine,  and  pharmacy.  Com- 
paratively few  pursue  literary  or  philosophical 
studies,  and  still  fewer  are  interested  in  the  bio- 
logical sciences.  In  the  department  of  botany 
there  are  now  but  two  students,  and  the  number 
in  zoology  is  probably  not  much  greater. 

Although  Professor  Poey  is  evidently  held  in 
very  high  respect  in  the  university,  in  which  he 
has  long  been  dean  of  the  faculty  of  science,  I  can- 
not imagine  that  he  ever  received  much  help  or 
sympathy  in  his  scientific  work  from  that  quarter, 
or  indeed  from  any  other  in  Cuba.  His  friends 
and  countrymen  are  doubtless  glad  to  be  of  assist- 
ance to  so  amiable  a  gentleman  as  the  Senor  Don 
Felipe,  but  they  have  very  little  intelligent  sym- 
pathy for  the  claims  of  science.  The  university 
library  contains  but  little  which  could  be  of  help 
in  Professor  Poey's  zoological  studies.  He  has 
therefore  been  compelled  to  gather  a  private  library 
of  ichthyology.  This  library  has  with  time  become 
very  rich  and  valuable,  many  of  his  co-workers  in 
the  study  of  fishes,  notably  Dr.  Bleeker,  having 
presented  him  with  complete  series  of  their  pub- 
lished works.  Two  of  Poey's  daughters  who  still 
reside  with  him  in  Havana  have  been  of  much 
help  to  him  in  the  preparation  of  drawings  and 
manuscripts. 

The  museum  of  the  university  occupies  two  little 
rooms, — the  one  devoted  chiefly  to  Cuban  minerals  ; 
the  other  containing  mostly  mammals,  birds,  and 


174  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

fishes  mounted  by  Poey  himself  in  the  earlier  days 
of  his  professorship.  The  number  of  these  is  not 
great,  nor  have  many  additions  been  made  during 
the  last  twenty  years.  Most  of  the  types  of  the 
new  species  described  by  Professor  Poey  have 
been,  after  being  fully  studied  by  him  and  repre- 
sented in  life-size  drawings,  sent  to  the  United 
States  National  Museum,  to  the  Museum  of  Com- 
parative Zoology,  or  to  the  Museum  at  Madrid. 
Duplicates  have  been  rarely  retained  in  Havana, 
the  cost  of  keeping  up  a  permanent  collection  be- 
ing too  great.  As  a  result,  Professor  Poey's  work 
has  suffered  from  lack  of  means  of  comparing 
specimens  taken  at  different  times.  There  is  no 
zoological  laboratory  in  Cuba  except  the  private 
study  of  Professor  Poey;  and  here,  for  want  of 
room  and  for  other  reasons,  drawings  have,  to  a 
great  extent,  taken  the  place  of  specimens. 

The  publication  of  the  observations  of  Professor 
Poey  on  the  animals  of  Cuba  was  begun  in  1851, 
in  a  series  of  papers  entitled  "  Memorias  sobre  la 
Historia  Natural  de  la  Isla  de  Cuba."  These 
papers  were  issued  at  intervals  from  1851  to  1860, 
and  together  form  two  octavo  volumes  of  about 
45°  pages  each.  The  first  volume  contains  chiefly 
descriptions  of  mollusks  and  insects.  The  second 
volume  is  devoted  mainly  to  the  fishes.  As  is  natu- 
ral in  the  exploration  of  a  new  field,  these  volumes 
are  largely  occupied  with  the  description  of  new 
species.  They  give  evidence  of  the  disadvantages 
arising  from  solitary  work,  without  the  aid  of  the 
association  and  criticism  of  others,  and  without  the 
broader  knowledge  of  the  relations  of  groups  which 


A    CUBAN  FISHERMAN'.  1/5 

comes  from  the  study  of  more  than  one  fauna. 
On  the  other  hand,  Professor  Poey  enjoyed  the 
great  advantage  of  having  an  almost  exhaustless 
supply  of  material ;  for  there  are  few  ports  where 
fishes  are  brought  in  in  such  quantities,  or  in  such 
variety,  as  in  the  markets  of  Havana. 

It  is  the  fashion  in  some  quarters  to  decry  the 
work  of  the  describer  of  new  forms.  This  is  unjust 
as  well  as  absurd.  All  honest  study  has  its  place ; 
and  till  the  pioneer  work  of  exact  determination  of 
species  is  performed,  there  is  little  opportunity  for 
fruitful  work  on  the  part  of  the  embryologist  or 
the  anatomist.  It  is  of  little  use  to  record  the 
structure  or  the  development  of  an  animal,  while 
the  animal  itself  is  unknown. 

The  "  Memorias "  were  at  once  recognized  as 
the  most  important  work  on  the  fishes  of  Cuba; 
and  as  was  said  long  ago  by  Professor  Cope,  this 
work  is  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  study  of  the  ichthy- 
ology of  tropical  America. 

The  nomenclature  and  grouping  of  the  species 
in  the  "  Conspectus  Piscium  Cubensium,"  contained 
in  the  "  Memorias,"  was  in  1862  the  subject  of  a 
critical  paper  by  Dr.  Theodore  Gill.1  This  article, 
and  subsequent  ones  by  the  same  author,  exerted 
much  influence  on  Poey's  work.  He  was  always 
ready  to  profit  by  the  suggestions  and  advice  of 
other  writers,  especially  of  those  more  favorably 
situated  than  he  in  regard  to  libraries  and  muse- 
ums ;  from  Professor  Gill's  papers  he  gained  clearer 

1  "  Remarks  on  the  Genera  and  other  Groups  of  Cuban  Fishes," 
Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia, 
1862,  pp.  235  et  seq. 


i;6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

views  of  the  relations  of  forms,  and  of  the  connec- 
tion of  the  Cuban  fauna  with  that  of  other  regions. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  was  led  to  adopt,  against 
his  own  judgment  in  many  instances,  that  minute 
subdivision  of  genera  which  has  been  a  fashion  in 
American  ichthyology,  and  which  has  been  in 
some  quarters  a  reproach  to  American  science. 

In  1868  the  results  of  the  revision  of  his  classi- 
fication were  embodied  in  a  second  catalogue  of 
the  Cuban  fishes,  entitled  "  Synopsis  Piscium  Cu- 
bensium."  This  forms  the  concluding  chapter  of 
a  series  of  papers,  entitled  "  Repertorio  Fi'sico- 
natural  de  la  Isla  de  Cuba,"  which  embody  the 
results  of  a  general  scientific  survey  of  the  island. 
Of  this  survey  Professor  Poey  was  director.  In 
1875  the  entire  list  of  species  was  again  revised, 
and  the  third  and  best  catalogue  of  Cuban  fishes 
was  published  under  the  title  of  "  Enumeratio  Pis- 
cium Cubensium."  Besides  these  larger  works, 
many  shorter  papers  by  Poey  occur  in  the  "  Pro- 
ceedings of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  "  of 
Philadelphia,  the  ''Annals  of  the  New  York  Ly- 
ceum," and  the  "  Anales  de  la  Sociedad  de  Historia 
Natural  de  Madrid."  He  is  also  the  author  of  a 
Geography  of  Cuba,  and  of  a  treatise  on  Mineral- 
ogy, used  in  the  Havana  schools.  A  number  of 
poems  from  his  pen  have  likewise  been  published, 
but  these  I  have  not  seen. 

The  great  work  of  Poey's  life  is  the  still  unpub- 
lished "  Ictiologia  Cubana."  This  is  to  contain 
a  detailed  account  of  each  of  the  fishes  of  Cuba. 
It  is  to  be  composed,  according  to  a  published 
statement  of  Poey,  which  I  here  translate,  — 


A    CUBAN  FISHERMAN.  177 

"of  a  thick  volume  of  text,  Spanish  folio,  and  of  an 
atlas  of  ten  volumes  larger  folio  (eighteen  by  thirteen 
inches).  The  plates  are  made  with  a  light  indication 
of  the  colors,  which  are  described  in  the  text.  All  are 
original,  drawn  from  nature  by  the  author.  .  .  .  The  text 
contains  the  scientific  name  of  each  species,  the  common 
name,  the  complete  synonymy,  a  description  of  the  colors, 
distinctive  peculiarities,  relations  of  the  varieties,  compari- 
sons, critical  observations,  and  the  history  of  the  fish.  It 
contains,  moreover,  the  characters  of  classes,  sub-classes, 
orders,  families,  genera,  and  species.  The  total  number 
of  plates  in  the  Atlas  is  1,040.  These  show  758  species 
of  Cuban  fishes,  represented  by  1,300  individuals  in  all 
stages  of  growth.  All  except  the  sharks  are  drawn  of 
life-size.  These  758  species,  together  with  24  mentioned 
at  the  end  of  the  work,  make  up  782  species  of  Cuban 
fishes.  Of  these,  105  are  doubtful,  and  therefore  are  left 
without  specific  names.  I  hold  them  in  suspense  till  I 
can  receive  further  data  from  the  study  of  other  speci- 
mens. There  are,  therefore,  677  species  well  determined, 
of  which  more  than  half  have  been  first  made  known  by 
me.  Not  more  than  a  dozen  species  in  the  list  have  not 
been  examined  by  me.  These  are  inserted  on  the  au- 
thority of  writers  who  claim  to  have  received  their 
specimens  from  Cuba,  and  who  appear  to  be  worthy 
of  confidence.  The  preparation  of  the  text  has  cost  me 
an  immense  amount  of  time  and  labor,  by  the  preparatory 
studies  which  it  has  required.  In  the  determination  of 
the  species  it  is  rarely  that  a  single  one  has  not  occupied 
me  for  an  entire  week.  I  have  wished  to  make  known 
the  certain  as  certain,  and  the  doubtful  as  doubtful,  so 
that  I  shall  declare  nothing  to  be  new  unless  it  is  so  in 
reality." 

The  manuscripts  of  this  great  work  are  now  in 
duplicate.     Professor  Pocy  retains  one  copy;   the 


i;S  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

other  has  been  purchased  by  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment for  $4,000.  It  is  earnestly  hoped  by  Pro- 
fessor Poey  and  his  friends  that  the  Government 
will  soon  order  its  publication ;  but,  unfortunately, 
there  seems  to  be  no  certainty  of  this.  The  manu- 
scripts and  drawings  of  the  "  Ictiologia  Cubana" 
were  placed  on  exhibition  by  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment in  the  Exposition  of  Amsterdam  in  1883. 
In  testimonial  of  their  worth,  Professor  Poey  has 
received  from  King  William  III.  the  decoration  of 
the  order  of  the  "  Lion  Neerlandais."  Before  this, 
as  the  most  distinguished  of  Spanish  naturalists, 
he  had  received  from  the  King  of  Spain  the  title 
of  "  Encomendador  de  la  Orden  de  Isabella  la 
Catolica." 

Among  the  manuscripts  of  Poey  is  one  bearing 
the  title  of  "  Corona  Poeyana."  This  is  a  list  of 
the  species  of  animals  and  plants  which  other  natu: 
ralists  have  named  for  him  as  "  Poeyi "  or  "  Poeya- 
nus,"  in  friendly  recognition  of  the  value  of  his 
work.  This  list  is  a  long  one,  but  the  kindly  trib- 
utes which  it  implies  have  not  been  undeserved. 

There  is  no  characteristic  of  Poey's  work  more 
striking  than  its  entire  lack  of  prejudice,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  teachableness  of  the  man  himself.  A 
certain  zoologist  was  once  described  to  me  by  Dr. 
Kirtland  as  "  a  little  man  who  could  n't  be  told 
anything."  His  character  was  in  this  regard  just 
the  reverse  of  that  of  Professor  Poey.  Among  all 
the  naturalists  of  our  time,  I  know  of  none  more 
willing  to  learn,  whatever  the  source  from  which 
information  may  come.  He  has  no  theories  which 
he  is  not  ready  to  set  aside  when  a  better  suggestion 


A    CUBAN  FISHERMAN.  179 

appears.  Unlike  some  other  systematic  writers, 
he  exhibits  no  preference  for  his  own  names  or 
subdivisions,  but  is  as  ready,  if  the  evidence  seems 
to  require  it,  to  smother  one  of  his  own  species  or 
genera  as  those  of  another.  His  work  shows  little 
sign  of  falling  off  in  quality.  The  clearness  of  his 
judgment  and  the  accuracy  of  his  memory  seem 
unimpaired.  It  is  difficult  in  conversing  with  him 
to  realize  that  he  was  born  in  the  last  century,  and 
that  in  his  earlier  studies  he  was  a  contemporary 
of  Lamarck,  Cuvier,  and  of  Geoffrey  Saint-Hilaire. 
Many  men  are  older  at  fifty  than  Poey  at  eighty-five. 
Old  age  and  its  accompanying  infirmities  are 
now  narrowing  the  circle  of  Professor's  Poey's 
life.  His  walks  seldom  extend  themselves  beyond 
the  confines  of  his  study  and  the  little  courtyard, 
shaded  by  tropical  trees,  into  which  his  door  opens. 
Some  two  hours  each  day  he  still  devotes  to  the 
study  of  fishes.  He  eagerly  reads  every  new  work 
on  his  favorite  science,  and  is  as  anxious  as  ever 
to  obtain  the  freshest  ideas  on  classification,  or  the 
latest  points  in  synonymy.  As  an  evidence  of  his 
freedom  of  mind  and  lack  of  prejudice  I  may  cite 
his  acceptance  of  the  various  scientific  theories 
and  conclusions  embraced  in  the  name  "  Darwin- 
ism," and  his  general  acceptance  of  the  philosophy 
of  evolution  as  developed  by  Herbert  Spencer,  an 
author  far  whom  he  has  expressed  to  me  a  special 
admiration.  This  is  the  more  remarkable  when 
we  remember  that  almost  his  whole  life  has  been 
passed  in  Cuba,  —  a  condition  where  all  tendencies 
of  society  and  of  Church  are  away  from  such  stud- 
ies and  speculations. 


I  SO  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Like  most  men  who  have  studied  Nature  for  love 
of  her,  Poey  possesses  a  deeply  religious  spirit. 
Everything  to  him  proclaims  the  presence  of  Di- 
vinity. "  I  believe  with  Lamarck,"  he  has  said, 
"  that  there  is  nothing  but  God  in  the  Universe, 
and  that  by  the  word  Nature  we  ought  to  under- 
stand an  order  of  things  .  .  .  Him  whose  true 
name  we  cannot  decipher;  who  in  the  burning 
bush,  questioned  by  Moses,  said,  '  1 am  that  1  am;' 
who  on  Mount  Sinai  called  himself  Jehovah,  and 
whom  in  our  mortal  tongue,  with  filial  tenderness, 
we  call  God."  l 

Poey  is  rather  above  the  medium  height,  heavily 
built,  and  in  his  younger  days  he  possessed  un- 
usual physical  activity  and  vigor.2  In  appearance 
he  offers  a  marked  contrast  to  most  of  his  country- 
men, the  Cubans.  His  complexion  is  fair,  his  hair 
—  now  white  —  was  never  dark,  and  his  gray  eyes 
suggest  the  Saxon  rather  than  the  Spaniard.  As 
he  once  said  to  me,  "  Comme  naturaliste,  je  ne 
suis  pas  espagnol:  je  suis  cosmopolite."  His  full 
forehead,  strong  features,  and  handsome,  smooth- 
shaven  face  are  not  misleading  evidences  of  a  pure 
and  benevolent  life.  He  has  a  most  happy  tem- 
perament, and  his  smile  is  peculiarly  genial  and 
cheery.  Simple,  direct,  unaffected,  he  is  one  of 
the  most  delightful  of  men.  Of  all  men  whom  I 
have  known,  none  has  better  than  he  learned  the 
art  of  growing  old. 

1  Memorias  de  Cuba,  vol.  ii  p.  414. 

2  Professor  Poey  died  in  1891. 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  10  DO  RUM.  i8l 


THE   FATE   OF   ICIODORUM.1 

IF  you  look  on  a  good  map  of  France,  you  will 
find,  a  little  south  of  the  centre,  a  small  squar- 
ish area,  painted  red,  and  bearing  the  name  of  Puy- 
de-D6me.  Puy-de-D6me  is  a  strange  region,  made 
up  of  fertile  valleys  separated  from  each  other  by 
ragged  hills  which  were  once  volcanoes  in  Palaeozoic 
times.  These  volcanoes  have  long  since  retired 
from  active  life,  and  are  black  and  dismal  now, 
their  faces  scored  by  lava-furrows,  like  gigantic  tear- 
stains  dried  on  their  rugged  cheeks.  In  their  cra- 
ters are  ponds  of  black  water  full  of  perch  and  trout 
as  black  as  the  rocks  above  which  they  swim.  The 
highest  of  these  hills  the  people  call  the  Puy-de- 
Dome,  —  the  Cathedral-peak.  There  is  an  obser- 
vatory on  the  top  of  it,  and  all  the  country  that 
you  can  see  from  the  mountain-summit  makes  up 
the  "department"  of  Puy-de-D6me. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  department,  near  what 
one  might  call  the  "  county  line,"  you  will  find,  if 
your  map  is  a  good  one,  the  little  city  of  Issoire. 
Issoire  is  a  very  old  town.  The  Romans  knew  it. 
They  found  it  when  they  invaded  Gaul,  1900  years 

1  The  chief  present  interest  of  this  essay  is  perhaps  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  nearly  all  the  historical  events  related  in  it  have 
taken  place  since  the  date  of  its  first  publication  in  the  "  Popular 
Science  Monthly  "  in  August,  1888. 


1 82  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

ago,  and  they  called  it  Iciodorum.  They  found  it 
again  in  the  year  287,  when  they  came  up  to  convert 
the  Gauls  to  Christianity,  —  a  thing  which  they  had 
neglected  to  do  upon  their  first  visit.  The  Romans 
brought  with  them  a  pious  monk,  Saint  Austre- 
moine  by  name  ;  and  the  people  of  Iciodorum  cap- 
tured him,  and  he  was  duly  roasted  in  accordance 
with  their  heathenish  customs.  So,  as  the  blood  of 
the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church,  Issoire  came 
in  time  to  be  famous  as  having  the  largest  church 
and  the  best  parish  schools  in  the  whole  region  of 
Auvergne. 

Issoire  has  a  long,  long  history,  which  is  duly 
set  forth  in  Joanne's  "  Guide-Book. "  Its  story  is 
one  of  castles  and  robbers  and  chivalry,  with  here 
and  there  a  fair  dame  and  an  ancestral  ghost,  per- 
haps, but  of  this  I  am  not  so  certain.  Once  Issoire 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  famous  knight  Pierre 
Diablenoir,  the  Duke  of  Alengon.  After  plunder- 
ing all  the  shops,  burning  the  houses,  killing  most 
of  the  people,  and  scaring  the  rest  off  into  the 
woods,  he  set  up  in  the  public  square  a  large  col- 
umn bearing  this  simple  legend,  "  Ici  fut  Issoire!" 
( "  Here  was  Issoire.")  Were  it  not  for  this  touching 
forethought,  we  might  be  to  this  day  as  ignorant  of 
Issoire's  location  as  we  are  of  the  site  of  Troy. 

But  the  years  went  on,  the  wars  were  ended,  the 
rain  fell,  the  birds  sang,  the  grass  grew,  the  people 
came  back,  and  Issoire  arose  from  its  ashes.  To- 
day it  is  as  dull  and  cosy  a  town  as  you  will  find  in 
all  France.  It  has  now,  according  to  Joanne,  a 
population  of  6,303  souls,  and  a  considerable  trade 
in  grain,  shoes,  millstones,  brandy,  and  vinegar. 


THE  FATE  OF  ICIODORUM.  183 

The  streets  of  Issoire  are  narrow,  and  the  houses 
are  crowded  closely  together,  as  if  struggling  to  get 
as  near  as  possible  to  the  church  for  protection. 
The  city  lies  in  the  fertile  valley  of  the  little  river 
Couze,  surrounded  by  grain-lands  and  meadows. 
Toward  the  north  a  long  white  highway,  shaded  by 
poplars,  leads  out  across  the  meadows  and  hills 
toward  the  larger  city  of  Clermont-Ferrand,  the 
capital  of  the  department  of  the  Puy-de-D6me. 
Issoire  is  enclosed  by  an  old  wall,  and  where  the 
highway  enters  the  town,  it  passes  through  a  pon- 
derous gate,  which  is  always  closed  at  night,  as  if 
to  ward  off  an  attack  from  some  other  Duke  of 
Alengon. 

I  strolled  out  one  midsummer  afternoon  on  the 
road  leading  to  Clermont.  When  I  came  to  the 
city  gate,  I  first  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  octroi. 
A  little  house  stands  by  the  side  of  the  gate ;  and 
here  two  or  three  gendarmes  —  old  soldiers  dressed 
in  red  coats  with  blue  facings  —  watch  over  the 
industries  of  the  town.  Wheelbarrow  loads  of  tur- 
nips, baskets  of  onions  or  artichokes,  wagon-loads 
of  hay,  all  these  come  through  the  city  gate,  and 
each  pays  its  toll  into  the  city  treasury.  One  cent 
is  collected  for  every  five  cabbage-heads,  or  ten 
onions,  or  twelve  turnips,  or  eight  apples,  or  three 
bunches  of  artichokes,  and  other  things  pay  in  pro- 
portion. This  payment  of  money  is  called  the 
octroi.  The  process  of  its  collection  interested  me 
so  that  I  gave  up  all  idea  of  a  tramp  across  the 
fields,  sat  down  on  an  empty  nail-keg,  and  devoted 
myself  to  the  study  of  the  octroi. 

The  octroi  is  an  instrument  to  advance  the  pros- 


1 84  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

perity  of  a  town  by  preventing  the  people  from 
sending  their  money  away.  It  is  a  well-kpown  fact 
that  individuals  become  poor  simply  because  they 
spend  their  money.  So  with  cities.  What  is  true 
of  the  individual  is  true  of  the  community,  itself 
but  an  aggregation  of  individuals.  Nations,  as  well 
as  individuals,  grow  rich  by  doing  their  own  work. 
Commerce,  as  is  well  known,  is  a  great  drain  on 
the  resources  of  a  town  as  of  a  nation.  Now,  if  in 
some  way  we  can  keep  the  money  of  a  town  within 
its  limits,  the  town  cannot  fail  to  grow  rich.  As 
Benjamin  Franklin  once  observed,  "  A  penny  saved 
is  twopence  earned."  The  great  problem  in  muni- 
cipal economics  is  this :  How  shall  we  keep  the 
town's  money  from  going  out  of  it?  How  shall  we 
best  discourage  buying,  —  especially  the  buying  of 
articles  from  dealers  outside? 

To  meet  this  problem,  the  wisdom  of  the  fathers 
devised  the  octroi. 

In  view  of  the  prospective  introduction  of  the 
octroi  into  America  (and  I  trust  that  I  am  violating 
no  confidence  in  saying  that  this  is  the  real  object 
of  the  present  visit  to  Europe  on  the  part  of  one  of 
America's  foremost  statesmen),  it  is  worthwhile  to 
examine  carefully  its  nature  and  advantages. 

Years  ago,  before  the  octroi  came  to  Issoire,  the 
city  was  noted  chiefly  for  the  barter  of  farm  prod- 
ucts. The  farmers  used  to  bring  in  grains,  hides, 
cheese,  and  other  produce,  which  they  would  ex- 
change for  clothing,  sugar,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  the 
various  necessaries  of  existence.  The  merchants 
used  to  load  the  grain  into  wagons  which  were 
driven  across  the  country  to  the  city  of  Clermont. 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  TO  DO  RUM.  1 8$ 

Here  the  grain  was  exchanged  for  clothing,  food, 
and  all  manner  of  necessaries  and  luxuries  which 
were  made  in  Clermont,  or  which  had  been  brought 
thither  from  the  great  city  of  Lyons.  There  were 
long  processions  of  these  wagons,  and  all  through 
the  autumn  and  winter  they  went  in  and  out.  And 
the  Issoire  people  were  very  proud  of  them  ;  for 
neither  coming  nor  going  were  they  empty,  and  the 
teamsters  of  Issoire  were  the  most  skilful  in  the 
whole  basin  of  the  Loire. 

But  the  mayor  of  the  city  and  other  thoughtful 
people  saw  cause  for  shame  rather  than  for  pride 
in  the  condition  of  Issoire's  industries.  It  was 
ruinous  thus  steadily  to  carry  away  the  wealth  of 
the  land  and  to  exchange  it  for  perishable  articles. 
When  a  wagon-load  of  boots,  for  example,  had 
been  all  worn  out,  then  the  boots  were  gone.  The 
money  that  had  been  paid  for  them  was  gone,  and 
so  far  as  Issoire  was  concerned,  it  was  as  much 
lost  as  if  money  and  boots  had  been  sunk  in  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  The  money  that  was  paid  out, 
I  say.  Not  so  with  the  money  that  was  paid  in. 
If  those  boots  had  been  bought  in  Issoire,  the  money 
that  they  cost  would  still  be  in  town,  still  be  in  circu- 
lation, and  would  go  from  one  to  another  in  the  way 
that  money  is  meant  to  go.  This  drain  must  be 
stopped,  and  the  octroi  could  stop  it.  So  it  was 
enacted  by  the  Common  Council  of  Issoire  that 
"  whosoever  brings  a  pair  of  new  boots  into  Issoire 
shall  be  compelled  to  pay  ten  francs,"  which  was 
the  cost  of  a  pair  of  boots  at  Clermont.  The  pur- 
pose of  this  order  was  not  to  raise  money,  but  to 
have  boots  made  at  Issoire,  that  the  wearing  out  of 


186  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

these  necessary  articles  should  not  wear  out,  at  the 
same  time,  the  wealth  of  the  town. 

"  People  will  have  boots,"  the  mayor  said  ;  "  they 
cannot  afford  to  bring  them  in  from  Clermont,  and 
so  they  will  make  them  at  Issoire,  and  all  the  boot- 
money  will  remain  at  home.  It  is  as  though,  so  far 
as  the  city  is  concerned,  Issoire  gets  her  boots  for 
nothing.  To  be  sure,  Clermont  has  good  water- 
power,  and  her  nearness  to  the  mountains  makes 
the  price  of  hides  and  tan-bark  lower,  but  this  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  question.  Natural  advan- 
tages amount  to  nothing  when  artificial  advantages 
can  be  given  by  a  mere  stroke  of  the  pen.  The 
laws  of  political  economy  are  not  of  universal  appli- 
cation. Depend  upon  the  octroi  to  make  all  things 
equal." 

A  new  boot-factory  was  now  built  at  Issoire,  and 
boots  were  offered  for  sale  at  twenty  francs  a  pair. 
The  cost  of  boots  at  Clermont  was  ten  francs,  and 
the  octroi  charges  at  the  city  gate  amounted  to  ten 
francs  more.  Buying  at  twenty  francs  would  save 
the  purchaser  a  trip  to  Clermont  and  back,  and,  as 
trade  is  apt  to  flow  in  the  direction  of  least  resist- 
ance, after  a  little  the  Issoire  boot  industry  became 
fairly  established.  There  was  some  grumbling  at 
high  prices.  Some  of  the  laboring  classes  went 
barefooted,  while  the  doctor  and  the  schoolmaster 
put  their  boys  and  girls  into  wooden  shoes,  or  sabots, 
such  as  peasant  children  wear.  But  the  mayor  and 
the  Common  Council  took  shares  in  the  new  factory, 
and,  being  members  of  the  company,  they  got  their 
boots  at  the  old  rate,  besides  having  a  part  in  the 
large  dividends  which  the  business  soon  began  to 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  I O  DO  RUM.  1 8? 

yield.  Employment  was  given  to  more  workmen, 
who  came  over  from  Clermont ;  the  hum  of  machin- 
ery took  the  place  of  the  creaking  of  farm-wagons, 
the  rich  began  to  grow  richer,  the  poor  went  bare- 
footed, and  the  people  of  moderate  means  felt  able 
to  run  into  debt  because  they  lived  in  a  progressive 
town.  The  wives  of  the  members  of  the  Common 
Council  bought  diamonds,  and  the  members  pre- 
sented the  mayor  with  a  gold-headed  cane.  Soon 
other  boot-factories  were  started,  and  still  others, 
though,  strangely  enough,  the  more  boots  were 
produced,  the  more  barefooted  children  were  seen 
in  the  streets. 

By  and  by  the  tanners  decided  that  they  too 
must  ask  for  help  from  the  octroi.  It  was  as  bad, 
they  said,  for  the  factories  to  send  to  Clermont  for 
leather  as  for  the  merchants  to  send  for  boots.  In 
either  case  the  money  went  out  of  the  town,  and 
was  gone  forever.  So  the  octroi  was  levied  on 
leather  as  well  as  on  boots.  Then  the  guild  of 
butchers  put  in  similar  claims.  To  buy  raw  hides 
of  the  herdsmen  out  on  the  Puy-de-D6me  was  a 
part  of  the  same  suicidal  policy.  The  octroi  was 
therefore  assessed  on  all  imported  skins.  The 
butchers  established  their  own  stock-yards  within 
the  city  walls,  and  were  saved  from  the  pauper 
competition  of  the  mountain  cattle.  Then  the 
mountain  herdsmen  drove  the  cattle  on  to  Clermont, 
and  Issoire  was  left  in  peace. 

But  some  of  the  boot-makers  complained  that 
this  policy  was  injuring  their  business  by  greatly 
raising  the  price  of  hides,  whether  produced  in 
Issoire  or  at  Clermont.  So  the  mayor  sent  a  letter 


1 88  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

to  the  Issoire  "  Gazette,"  a  long  letter  which  the 
schoolmaster  had  helped  him  to  compose,  and  in 
which  he  showed  conclusively  that  the  purpose  of 
the  octroi  was  to  make  things,  not  dearer,  but 
cheaper.  Said  he:  "  The  ultimate  result  of  the 
octroi  is  always  in  the  end  to  reduce  prices.  The 
sole  purpose  of  the  octroi  on  hides,  for  example, 
is  to  educate  our  people  in  the  art,  so  to  speak,  of 
raising  hides.  By  this  education,  they  may,  by 
superior  intelligence,  experience  in  the  business, 
and  the  acquirement  of  knowledge  on  the  subject, 
be  enabled  to  produce  cowhides  in  such  abundance, 
by  new  and  improved  methods,  that  they  may  sell 
them  much  cheaper  than  they  do  now,  sell  more 
of  them,  and  yet  realize  a  larger  profit  on  each 
hide  than  they  can  do  at  present.  If  there  is  a 
fair  prospect  that  this  can  be  accomplished,  who 
shall  say  that  it  is  not  a  part  of  wise  statesmanship 
to  attempt  this  result?  Cattle-raising  is  now  car- 
ried on  in  the  most  primitive  way,  by  driving  the 
cattle  about  as  though  they  were  wild  beasts  from 
place  to  place  on  remote  and  uninhabited  hills. 
The  octroi  will  tend  to  encourage  each  householder 
in  Tssoire  to  keep  his  own  cow,  produce  his  own 
leather,  thus  diversifying  his  business  and  giving 
him  some  new  product  to  sell  every  year,  some 
new  demand  for  labor." 

And  the  thoughtful  men  of  Issoire,  the  leaders 
of  public  opinion,  saw  the  force  of  this  argument, 
and  they  were  satisfied  to  submit  to  temporary  in- 
convenience for  the  sake  of  the  industrial  education 
of  the  people. 

But  the  boot-trade  was  already  growing  slack. 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  I O  DO  RUM.  189 

The  market  had  supplied  boots  for  all,  but  the 
people  perversely  refused  to  take  them.  The 
shop-windows  were  full  of  boots,  temptingly  dis- 
played in  rows  of  assorted  sizes ;  nevertheless, 
every  person  in  Issoire,  except  those  engaged  in 
boot-making,  seemed  bent  on  wearing  his  last 
year's  boots  rather  than  to  pay  twenty  francs  for  a 
new  pair.  The  high  price  of  leather  and  hides 
since  the  exclusion  of  the  mountain  cattle  began 
to  reduce  the  profits  in  boot-making,  and  so  some 
of  the  factories  threw  a  poorer  article  on  the  mar- 
ket, without,  however,  any  corresponding  reduction 
in  price.  And  people  found  that  it  was  cheaper 
to  go  to  Clermont  again  for  boots,  notwithstanding 
the  payment  of  the  octroi.  Accordingly,  the  old 
wagons  were  sent  out  once  in  a  while,  by  people 
who  had  more  cupidity  than  patriotism.  And  a 
little  coterie  of  aristocrats  who  sneered  at  the 
mayor  as  a  demagogue,  and  at  the  octroi  as  a 
"  relic  of  the  middle  ages,"  used  to  wear  Clermont- 
made  boots  and  to  ape  Clermont  fashions.  But 
all  good  citizens  discouraged  this,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  the  "  Tssoire  idea"  became  one  of  their 
articles  of  faith,  next  to  those  in  the  catechism. 

But  Clermont-made  boots  often  came  in  on  the 
sly  —  no  one  knew  how — to  the  dismay  of  the 
local  dealers.  The  Common  Council  saw  that  this 
would  not  do,  and  that  the  single  old  soldier  who 
guarded  each  of  the  city  gates  could  not  meet  all 
the  requirements  of  the  octroi.  So  at  each  gate 
were  placed  a  dozen  gendarmes,  in  red  woollen 
uniforms,  with  black  caps  fastened  on  by  a  leather 
band  which  went  around  the  lower  lip.  And  the 


I QO  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

gendarmes  searched  every  cart  and  every  ash- 
barrel  that  went  in  or  out.  They  watched  every 
rat-hole  in  the  wall  to  see  if  haply,  by  day  or  by 
night,  boots  should  come  into  Issoire  without  the 
chalk-mark  of  the  octroi.  Occasionally  some  poor 
wretch  was  taken  in  the  act  of  throwing  boots  over 
the  wall,  and  made  to  pay  the  penalty  of  his  crime. 
But  sometimes  even  the  gendarmes  themselves,  the 
guardians  of  the  prosperity  of  the  community,  were 
seen  walking  about  in  Clermont-made  boots,  which 
they  had  obtained  by  a  process  known  as  "  addi- 
tion, division,  and  silence."  The  mayor  noticed 
this  one  day,  but  the  gendarmes  had  just  presented 
him  with  a  gold-headed  cane.  They  were  very 
much  devoted  to  the  Issoire  idea  —  it  was  just 
before  election  —  and  on  the  whole  he  thought  it 
best  to  say  nothing  about  it. 

The  problem  now  before  the  mayor  and  the' 
Common  Council  was  this :  How  shall  we  put  life 
into  the  boot-trade?  The  stock  was  large,  its 
quality  was  excellent,  and  yet  for  days  at  a  time 
the  boot-shops  would  not  see  a  customer.  Some- 
thing must  be  done.  At  last,  an  ordinance  was 
passed  that  every  citizen  of  Issoire  must  have  at 
least  one  new  pair  of  Issoire- made  boots,  which 
must  be  worn  on  Sunday  afternoons  when  the  band 
played  in  the  park,  —  at  which  time  the  gendarmes 
would  go  about  on  a  tour  of  inspection.  When 
Sunday  came,  half  the  workingmen  stayed  at  home 
all  day,  because  they  had  not  the  money  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  law. 

But  a  few  of  the  bolder  ones  went  to  the  mayor 
and  said  openly:  "  If  you  want  us  to  wear  Issoire- 


THE  FATE   OF  ICIODORUM.  IQI 

made  boots,  you  must  furnish  them  for  us.  You 
ought  to  do  it  anyhow.  This  city  owes  us  a  living, 
and  we  came  over  here  from  Clermont  to  get  it. 
We  were  told  that  the  workingman  in  Issoire  would 
have  the  octroi  on  his  side,  and  would  not  have  to 
work  like  a  slave  to  keep  soul  and  body  together, 
as  we  had  to  do  at  Clermont.  But  it  is  the  same 
old  story  here.  We  do  all  the  work,  and  some- 
body else  gets  all  the  profits.  Now  we  have  to 
buy  and  pay  for  the  boots  we  make  ourselves. 
The  cowhide  in  a  pair  of  boots  costs  the  capitalists 
but  a  franc,  and  we,  the  boot-makers,  pay  twenty 
francs  for  the  boots  when  we  have  made  them. 
The  other  nineteen  francs  are  the  product  of  labor, 
and  ought  to  belong  to  us.  Our  boots  should  be 
furnished  at  a  franc  a  pair." 

So  they  held  a  mass-meeting  in  the  cafe  of  the 
Lion  d'Or,  and  resolved  that  the  rights  of  man 
were  not  respected  in  Issoire.  They  sent  a  delega- 
tion to  the  mayor,  asking  that  boots  for  the  work- 
ingman be  furnished  at  the  expense  of  the  town. 
This  would  be  but  justice,  and  moreover  it  was 
the  only  way  to  start  anew  the  wheels  of  industry. 
Money  should  not  be  locked  up  in  the  city  treas- 
ury. It  should  go  from  man  to  man,  and  this 
action  was  sure  to  set  it  going. 

Then  the  schoolmaster  wrote  a  long  letter  to  the 
Issoire  "  Gazette,"  and  showed  very  clearly  that 
this  claim  was  on  the  whole  a  just  one.  Nobody 
understood  the  argument,  but  all  applauded  it 
because  it  looked  very  learned ;  and,  moreover,  its 
conclusions  were  in  harmony  with  their  previous 
opinions.  The  schoolmaster  showed  that,  as  boots 


1 92  SCIENCE  SKE  TCHES. 

were  worth  twenty  francs  a  pair,  and  the  leather  in 
them  cost  but  one  franc,  the  nineteen  francs  left 
were  the  product  of  labor,  and  should  rightfully  be 
returned  to  the  laborer.  Now,  in  Clermont,  where 
boots  were  made  by  pauper  labor,  the  boots  sold 
for  ten  francs,  and  the  leather  in  each  pair  was 
worth  but  fifty  centimes.  In  Clermont,  therefore, 
the  rightful  share  of  labor,  even  if  labor  had  its 
due,  which  it  never  has  in  this  world,  was  only 
nine  and  a  half  francs ;  that  is,  to  labor  belonged 
nine  and  a  half  francs  on  each  pair  of  boots  in 
Clermont,  and  nineteen  francs  in  Issoire.  The  lot 
of  the  laborer  was  therefore  twice  as  delightful  in 
Issoire  as  in  Clermont,  this  difference  being  due  to 
the  beneficent  influence  of  the  octroi. 

And  the  Common  Council,  who  were  friends  of 
labor,  decided  that  hereafter  the  price  of  boots 
should  be  twenty  francs  to  workingmen,  but  that 
nineteen  francs  of  this  should  be  paid  as  a  bounty 
from  the  public  treasury.  But,  "  always  taking 
out  of  a  meal-bag  and  never  putting  in,  soon  comes 
to  the  bottom,"  as  Benjamin  Franklin  once  said, 
and  there  have  been  few  shrewder  observers  of 
French  politics  than  he.  One  morning,  when  the 
treasurer  put  his  hand  into  the  strong-box  to  get  the 
nineteen  francs  to  pay  for  one  more  pair  of  boots, 
he  found  it  empty.  There  were  only  a  bad  franc, 
a  fifty-centime  note,  and  half  a  dozen  copper  sous 
and  two-centime  pieces ;  nothing  more.  He  had 
come  to  the  bottom. 

Here  was  a  crisis  !  The  mayor  and  the  Common 
Council  were  called  together  in  haste.  The  work- 
man Jacques,  who  wanted  the  boots,  was  waiting 


THE  FATE  OF  1C  10  DO  RUM.  193 

outside,  a  big,  burly  fellow,  with  a  sledge-hammer 
fist  and  an  unpleasant  look  in  his  eye.  The  mayor 
took  one  glance  at  him,  and  saw  that  he  was  not 
to  be  trifled  with.  Moreover,  this  one  case  was 
not  to  end  the  difficulty.  The  road  from  Clermont 
and  the  road  across  the  mountains  to  Aurillac,  the 
chief  town  of  the  next  department,  Cantal,  were 
black  with  the  advancing  hosts  of  workmen  coming 
to  share  the  privileges  which  Issoire  held  out  to 
the  oppressed  of  every  city.  Through  the  win- 
dows of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  the  mayor  could  see 
them  coming,  and  he  knew  that  the  demand  of 
each  one  of  them  would  be  "  boots."  It  was  not 
one  pair  of  boots  to  be  paid  for,  it  was  a  thousand  ! 
There  were  boots  enough  in  Issoire.  The  factories 
were  never  so  prosperous,  and  the  money  they  re- 
ceived from  the  city  was  kept  in  rapid  circulation. 
The  grocers  got  some,  the  butchers  some,  a  good 
deal  went  to  the  landlady  of  the  Golden  Lion,  and 
the  wives  of  the  factory-owners  and  the  council- 
men  bought  diamond  necklaces  and  bracelets  to 
match  the  ear-rings  which  they  had  before. 

But  this  could  not  go  on  unless  the  city  treasury 
could  meet  the  demands  upon  it.  In  the  words  of 
a  celebrated  economist,  "  The  mill  can  never  grind 
again  with  the  water  that  is  past,"  and,  unless  new 
water  could  be  procured,  grinding  was  over  at 
Issoire.  The  town  must  have  money,  or  else  the 
factories  would  be  closed,  the  supply  of  boots 
cease,  and  each  citizen  of  Issoire  would  have  to 
keep  the  wolf  from  the  door  by  his  own  unaided 
exertions. 

It  was  a  great  crisis ;    but  such  crises,  "  God's 
13 


IQ4  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

stern  winnowers,"  as  the  poet  calls  them,  are  the 
making  of  great  men.  And  this  crisis  made  a 
great  man  of  the  mayor  of  Issoire,  or  rather  it 
made  a  background  against  which  his  greatness 
could  be  seen.  I  have  forgotten  the  mayor's  name, 
and  I  am  very  sorry  for  it.  It  was  a  French  name 
and  wholly  unpronounceable  to  me,  something  like 
De  Roncevalle  or  De  Rousselieu ;  but  if  ever  the 
name  of  a  mayor  were 

"  On  Fame's  eternal  beadroll  worthy  to  be  filed," 

it  is  his,  and  it  is  my  constant  regret  that  I  cannot 
file  it  there. 

And  the  mayor  said:  "All  our  prosperity  is  due 
to  the  action  of  the  octroi  on  a  single  article  of 
necessity, —  namely,  boots.  This  is  prosperity  along 
a  single  line  only,  a  one-sided  development  of  our 
industries,  and  from  this  comes  our  present  embar- 
rassment. Put  the  octroi  on  everything,  and  you 
have  prosperity  along  the  whole  line.  Some  of 
these  things  we  can  produce  at  home,  some  we  can- 
not. Those  that  we  cannot  produce  the  people 
will  have  somehow,  and  from  these  you  can  raise 
the  money  to  pay  for  the  boots  which  Issoire  recog- 
nizes as  the  just  due  of  the  toiling  workingman." 
Here  the  mayor  wiped  a  tear  from  his  eye,  and 
raised  his  voice  a  little,  in  the  hope  that  perchance 
some  toiling  workingman  might  be  listening  out- 
side, or  taking  his  needful  midday  rest  at  the  Golden 
Lion,  next  door. 

"  On  the  tea,  coffee,  pepper,  brass,  tin,  dia- 
monds "  (here  the  Common  Council  heaved  a 
sigh),  "  and  other  articles  which  Issoire  cannot 


THE  FATE   OF  I  CIO  DO  RUM.  195 

produce,  we  will  raise  the  income  which  the  city 
needs.  And  the  great  charm  of  this  tax  is  that 
the  people  will  not  feel  it  at  all,  for  it  will  all  be 
paid  by  outsiders,  by  these  merchants  from  Cler- 
mont  and  Lyons  who  send  their  goods  to  our 
town.  They  own  the  goods,  they  bring  them  here, 
they  pay  the  octroi,  for  we  need  not  buy  of  them 
until  the  goods  are  safe  inside  the  city  gates.  By 
a  single  stroke  in  financial  policy,  we  shall  keep 
our  factories  running,  our  workingmen  contented, 
and  make  the  merchants  in  our  rival  cities  pay  all 
our  expenses.  As  for  the  other  articles  which  we 
buy  in  Clermont,  we  can  make  them  here,  if  only 
we  can  have  the  octroi  to  help  us.  Extend  the 
octroi  to  everything,  and  Issoire  will  become  a  mi- 
crocosm, a  little  world  within  a  world.  We  shall  do 
everything  for  ourselves.  There  is  no  excuse  for 
buying  anything  in  Clermont  so  long  as  there  is  a 
foot  of  land  in  Issoire  on  which  a  factory  can  be 
built.  We  shall  have  woollen-factories,  and  pow- 
der-factories, and  iron-foundries,  and  distilleries, 
and  cotton-factories,  and  wine-vaults,  and  chair- 
factories,  and  stone-quarries,  and  gold-mines,  and 
flourihg-mills,  and  paper-mills,  and  saw-mills,  and 
wind-mills,  and  gin-mills,  and  —  " 

But  here  the  mayor  began  to  grow  a  little  inco- 
herent. He  had  been  out  late  the  night  before, 
explaining  the  advantages  of  the  octroi  at  the  club 
in  the  Cafe  de  la  Comedie,  and  his  private  secre- 
tary pulled  his  coat  in  warning  that  he  should 
bring  his  speech  to  a  close. 

The  mayor's  recommendation  was  accepted  in 
part  A  few  of  the  Council  had  been  in  favor  of 


196  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

issuing  some  kind  of  cheap  money,  —  some  sort  of 
brass  or  paper  token,  which  they  could  make  by 
machinery  whenever  the  treasury  became  empty. 
But  to  do  anything  of  this  sort  successfully  would 
require  the  consent  and  co-operation  of  Clermont. 
And  the  merchants  and  bankers  of  Clermont  said 
that  gold  was  good  enough  for  them.  Besides,  in 
France  "  the  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire,"  and  the 
best  people  were  cowardly  in  the  presence  of  great 
financial  reforms.  So,  by  way  of  compromise,  they 
agreed  to  extend  the  octroi  to  twenty-seven  arti- 
cles, —  mostly  articles  of  food  or  clothing  which 
had  been  brought  in  from  Clermont  or  from  the 
mountains  of  the  Puy-de-D6me.  The  workman 
Jacques  was  dismissed  with  a  pair  of  boots,  for 
which  the  mayor  himself  paid.  Jacques  left  the 
council-chamber  satisfied,  and  the  crisis  was  averted. 

And  now  money  flowed  in  again  to  Issoire, 
The  farmers  who  brought  in  onions  paid  a  little, 
the  boy  who  pulled  water-cresses  a  little,  the  milk- 
men a  little,  the  vine-growers  a  good  deal  more, 
but  most  of  all  came  in  from  the  merchants  of 
Clermont,  who  in  spite  of  all  discouragement  still 
persisted  in  carrying  cheap  goods  to  Issoire. 

Prices  went  up,  —  a  sure  index  of  prosperity.  It 
was  easy  to  pay  one's  debts,  easier  still  to  make 
new  ones ;  but  the  great  thing  was  that  the  money 
was  kept  in  town.  To  go  from  hand  to  hand,  from 
hand  to  hand,  and  then  from  hand  to  hand  again, 
as  in  the  endless  round  of  the  fairy  tale,  —  that  is 
what  money  is  for.  Factories  sprang  up  as  if  by 
magic,  and  down  the  long  white  highways  multi- 
tudes of  the  crushed  and  down-trodden  of  other 


THE  FATE  OF  I  CIO  DO  RUM. 

cities  were  seen  tramping  along  to  share  the  pros- 
perity of  Issoire.  Five  hundred  soldiers  in  red 
and  blue  uniforms  had  taken  the  place  of  the  dozen 
gendarmes,  the  dome  of  the  church  was  gilded 
anew,  and  the  poet  wrote  a  sonnet  in  which  Issoire 
was  compared  to  the  island  of  Calypso,  and  the 
mayor  to  Ulysses. 

But  the  weather  was  never  so  pleasant  that 
nobody  had  the  rheumatism.  Never  was  country 
so  happy  that  the  grumblers  all  kept  still.  There 
were  some  complainers  even  at  Issoire.  Those  who 
lived  on  incomes  and  endowments  said  that  with  the 
rise  of  prices  it  was  every  day  harder  to  make 
both  ends  meet.  One  wealthy  man  who  wore 
Clermont-made  boots,  and  had  furnished  his  sons 
with  private  tutors,  and  saddle-horses,  and  gold 
watches,  now  found  it  almost  beyond  his  means  to 
keep  them  in  ordinary  clothing.  But  he  soon 
removed  to  Clermont,  and  others  of  the  same  sort 
went  with  him.  With  them,  too,  went  the  widows 
and  orphans  who  lived  on  endowments,  and  the 
old  soldiers  who  had  government  pensions. 

But  the  mayor  said :  "  Let  them  go ;  it  is  a 
good  riddance.  They  belong  to  the  non-pro- 
ducing class,  a  class  that  hangs  like  a  millstone 
on  the  neck  of  labor." 

But,  in  spite  of  all  adverse  influences,  many  peo- 
ple from  Issoire  visited  Clermont  in  fine  weather 
for  pleasure  or  for  trade.  It  was  pleasant  to  wan- 
der about  the  larger  town,  the  home  of  their  an- 
cestors, to  be  a  part  in  the  bustle  of  its  streets,  and 
to  breathe  its  metropolitan  air.  There  were  better 
opera-houses  there,  and  picture-galleries,  and  there 


1 98  SCIENCE   SKETCHES. 

was  a  special  charm  in  the  shops  where  prices  far 
below  those  at  Issoire  were  ostentatiously  fixed  on 
elaborately  displayed  wares.  And  so  —  almost 
before  the  owner  knew  it —  many  an  Issoire  wagon 
was  loaded  down  with  cheap  goods  from  Clermont. 
But  although  the  octroi  was  paid  at  the  city  gates, 
the  real  purpose  of  the  octroi  was  evaded.  The 
money,  in  the  first  place,  was  spent  outside  the 
city.  Worse  than  this,  the  octroi,  instead  of  being 
paid  by  the  agents  of  the  Clermont  merchants,  — 
as  the  law  intended,  —  was  collected,  as  the  mayor 
of  Issoire  now  said,  "  off  our  own  people."  For,  if 
the  octroi  is  to  be  collected  in  this  way,  "  off  our 
own  people,"  it  would  be  just  as  easy  and  a  good 
deal  cheaper  and  fairer  to  collect  the  tax  in  the 
usual  way,  in  direct  proportion  to  the  value  of 
each  man's  income  or  capital. 

Another  ordinance  was  clearly  necessary.  The 
wagon-maker  at  Issoire  had  long  since  gone  out  of 
the  business.  The  prices  of  wood,  iron,  leather, 
and  paint  were  such  that  he  could  not  compete 
with  Clermont  manufacturers.  So  the  wagon-shop 
was  closed,  and  carriages  and  vehicles  of  every 
description  were  brought  over  from  Clermont. 
The  cost  of  these  vehicles  had  been  a  heavy  drain 
upon  the  resources  of  Issoire.  The  octroi  alone 
would  not  remedy  this,  for  nothing  short  of  abso- 
lute prohibition  of  outside  purchase  would  revive 
the  wagon-trade.  So  the  mayor  proposed  that  by 
another  bold  stroke  the  dying  industry  should  be 
revived,  while  at  the  same  time  the  citizens  of 
Issoire  should  be  prevented  from  paying  the  octroi. 
It  was  enacted  that  no  citizen  of  Issoire  should 


THE   FATE   OF  I  CIO  DO  RUM.  199 

own  any  sort  of  vehicle  —  wheelbarrow,  cart,  wagon, 
barouche,  carriage,  or  droschke  —  unless  said  ve- 
hicle was  made  in  all  its  parts  at  Issoire,  and  bore 
the  signature  of  the  mayor  and  the  seal  of  the 
Common  Council.  This  saved  the  city  many 
thousands  of  francs,  —  for,  now  that  the  people  no 
longer  drove  over  to  Clermont,  the  Clermont  mer- 
chants sent  goods  to  Issoire;  and  when  they 
entered  the  gates,  the  Clermont  people  paid  the 
charges  of  the  octroi. 

When  the  first  Issoire  wagon  was  finished,  the 
maker  had  put  such  a  high  price  upon  it  that  no 
one  would  buy,  and  the  reviving  industry  began 
to  faint  again.  The  wagon-maker  said  that  he 
could  n't  help  it.  Unless  he  could  in  some  way 
get  wood  and  nails  at  special  prices,  his  wagons 
would  be  out  of  the  reach  of  all  buyers.  A  few  of 
the  Common  Council  were  in  favor  of  releasing  the 
wagon-maker  from  the  octroi  on  articles  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  wagons  ;  but  the  rest  were  un- 
willing to  do  this,  —  because  to  buy  these  materials 
outside  is  another  drain  on  the  prosperity  of  a 
town.  At  last  they  arranged  a  compromise,  by 
which  the  city  gave  an  order  for  a  new  street- 
sprinkler  and  twelve  rubbish-carts,  to  be  paid  for 
from  the  public  treasury.  They  had  no  need  for  a 
new  sprinkler  then,  and  five  rubbish-carts  would 
have  been  enough.  But  a  liberal  order  like  this 
made  the  wagon-maker  contented,  and  a  generous 
policy  was  necessary  to  start  anew  the  wheels  of 
trade,  which,  in  spite  of  all  their  care,  were  fre- 
quently becoming  clogged. 

Once    more    the   treasury   was    nearly    empty. 


2OO  SCIENCE  SKETCPIES. 

The  citizens  of  Issoire,  accustomed  to  having  their 
taxes  paid  by  the  people  of  Clermont  and  Lyons, 
would  not  submit  to  any  form  of  direct  taxation. 
Had  the  Common  Council  said,  "  We  must  have 
so  much  money;  we  propose  to  take  it  from  your 
pockets  by  a  pro  rata  assessment,"  the  people 
would  have  risen  as  one  man  and  put  the  opposi- 
tion candidates  into  office.  Direct  taxation  is  a 
confession  of  barrenness  in  expedients.  Where 
money  is  to  be  raised,  it  should  always  be  col- 
lected from  foreigners,  if  possible.  This  is  a 
maxim  in  political  science,  and  all  successful  finan- 
ciers from  Julius  Caesar  down  have  acted  in  accord- 
ance with  it. 

The  falling  off  in  the  Clermont  trade,  due  to  the 
new  wagon  law,  had  made  a  serious  reduction  of 
the  revenue.  And  now  appeared  the  wisdom  of 
tfce  mayor's  original  suggestion.  What  Issoire 
needed  was  prosperity  along  the  whole  line.  A 
partial  octroi  means  only  partial  prosperity.  A 
universal  octroi  insures  prosperity  which  is  un- 
bounded and  universal. 

And  so  the  schoolmaster  took  a  copy  of  Littre's 
"  Unabridged  Dictionary  "  and  the  "  Dictionary  of 
the  Academy,"  and  from  these  he  drew  up  a  list 
of  three  thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-two 
articles  on  which  the  city  government  might  levy 
the  octroi.  And  the  mayor  and  the  City  Council 
sat  up  half  the  night  to  decide  just  how  much 
octroi  each  one  of  these  articles  should  bear,  in 
order  to  secure  the  best  results  to  the  community. 

The  list  began :  — 


THE  FATE   OF  1C IO  DO  RUM.  2OI 

Absinthe octroi  one  franc  per  bottle. 

Accoutrements "  five  francs  per  set. 

Acids "  one  franc  per  litre. 

Alcohol "  five  francs  per  litre. 

Alligators "  five  francs  each. 

Animals  (not  otherwise  specified)  "  ten  centimes  per  kilogramme. 

Arnica "  five  centimes  per  kilogramme. 

Artichokes "  five  centimes  each. 

And  so  on,  down  to  zinc  and  zoophytes. 

The  general  effect  of  this  law  was  like  that  of  a 
refreshing  rain  upon  a  thirsty  field.  Everybody 
took  heart,  and  general  confidence  in  the  future  is 
the  chief  element  in  financial  prosperity.  But  the 
law  had  some  curious  results. 

The  octroi  on  elephants  was  so  high  as  to  be 
prohibitory,  and  the  Italian  organ-grinder  thanked 
his  stars  that  he  and  his  monkey  were  well  inside 
the  city  gates  before  the  law  went  into  effect. 
The  combined  tax  on  quadrumana  and  musical 
instruments  was  more  than  he  could  pay.  Once 
within,  however,  he  enjoyed  a  full  monopoly;  and 
this,  so  the  schoolmaster  told  him,  was  just  what 
the  law  originally  intended,  —  for  octroi  is  spelled  in 
Latin  "  auctoritas,"  "  by  authority,"  an  authorized 
monopoly.  The  manufacturers  of  dolls  were  much 
encouraged.  Christmas  was  coming  on ;  the 
children  must  have  dolls;  and  the  pauper  doll- 
makers  of  Jonas,  with  whom  Saint  Nicholas  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  trading,  were  by  no  means 
able  to  pay  the  octroi. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  trade  in  looking- 
glasses  was  nearly  ruined.  The  octroi  on  glass, 
quicksilver,  wood,  tin,  varnish,  and  glue,  drove  the 
mirror-maker  distracted.  The  people  took  to 


202  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

polishing  up  tin  pans,  and  to  looking  into  dark 
windows  or  down  into  deep  wells,  in  search  for  the 
truth  that  is  said  to  lie  there.  Then  the  law  offered 
some  curious  anomalies.  For  instance,  a  sheep 
with  the  wool  on  went  through  the  city  gates  for 
fifteen  francs.  If  the  wool  was  taken  off,  it  was 
charged  a  franc  per  pound,  and  the  sheep  went  in 
as  mutton,  paying  five  francs.  It  was,  therefore, 
cheaper  to  take  a  sheep  to  pieces  outside  of  the 
city  gate  rather  than  within. 

Again,  there  was  a  curious  complication  in  the 
matter  of  bootjacks,  —  a  humble  article  of  domestic 
use,  manufactured  in  the  little  village  of  Jonas, 
just  mentioned.  If  these  were  sent  in  as  house- 
hold furniture,  each  paid  a  franc,  while,  as  wooden- 
ware,  the  charge  was  fifty  centimes. 

With  the  millstone-trade  the  results  were  even 
more  remarkable.  One  of  the  chief  articles  of 
export  from  Issoire,  in  its  early  days,  was  the 
stone  used  in  flouring-mills.  In  the  lower  part  of  the 
city,  close  to  the  river  Couze,  there  is  an  extensive 
quarry  of  a  coarse,  hard  sandstone,  most  excellent 
for  milling  purposes.  It  had  long  been  a  saying 
with  Issoire  people,  "  We  send  Clermontthe  wheat, 
and  the  stones  to  grind  it."  The  Issoire  millstones 
were  not  inferior  to  those  quarried  in  Cantal,  and, 
the  distance  from  Clermont  being  much  less,  the 
Issoire  millstone-cutters  had  almost  a  monopoly  of 
the  Clermont  trade. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  octroi,  however,  the 
wagons  which  had  formerly  brought  over  manufac- 
tured goods  in  exchange  for  millstones  were 
obliged  to  go  to  Issoire  empty.  Thus  their  owners 


THE  FATE   OF  1C IO  DO  RUM.  2O$ 

had  to  charge  for  one  trip  almost  the  former  price 
of  two.  This  increased  cost  of  transportation 
brought  down  the  price  of  millstones  in  Issoire, 
for  the  competition  of  the  quarries  of  Cantal  made 
it  impossible  to  raise  the  price  at  Clermont.  To 
do  that  would  be  to  divert  the  trade  of  the  Cler- 
mont mill-owners  entirely  to  Cantal.  In  such  cases, 
the  prices  for  the  whole  region  must  be  governed 
by  the  price  at  the  centre  of  trade.  The  profits  of 
the  Issoire  quarry  were  thus  materially  reduced. 
The  owners  talked  of  reducing  the  wages  of  their 
employes;  but  this  they  could  not  do,  for  the  wages 
were  already  at  the  lowest  point  at  which  effective 
service  could  be  secured.  The  natural  remedy 
lay  in  an  appeal  to  the  octroi.  The  Council  levied 
five  centimes  per  kilogramme  on  all  millstones 
brought  into  Issoire.  Some  of  the  Council  thought 
this  levy  an  absurdity,  for  not  a  single  millstone 
had  ever  been  imported.  The  old  proverb  as  to 
"  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle  "  was  intended  to 
cover  just  such  cases.  But  the  mayor  told  them 
to  wait  and  see,  and  the  result  showed  his  far-seeing 
wisdom.  The  quarry-owners  doubled  their  home 
prices,  while  the  octroi  preserved  them  from  loss 
through  outside  competition.  Then  followed  one 
of  those  curious  surprises  which  lend  such  zest  to 
the  study  of  French  economic  problems.  The 
price  of  millstones  at  the  quarry  in  Issoire  was 
nearly  double  the  price  of  the  same  millstones  in 
Clermont,  whither  they  were  carried  by  salesmen 
from  Issoire.  After  a  time  Issoire  mill-owners 
began  to  send  to  Clermont  for  millstones,  instead 
of  buying  them  at  home.  It  was  cheaper  for  them 


204  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

to  buy  their  home  products  in  another  city,  to  pay 
carnage  both  ways,  and  to  pay  the  octroi  at  the 
city  gates,  than  it  was  to  send  across  the  street  in 
Issoire  for  the  same  article.  Freedom  from  com- 
petition at  Issoire  enabled  the  quarry-owners  to 
fix  their  own  prices  at  home,  and  thus  to  broaden 
the  slender  margin  of  profits  which  came  from  out- 
side trade.  This  peculiar  condition  reached  its 
climax  when  one  of  Beltran's  wagons  from  Cler- 
mont  left  Issoire  with  a  load  of  millstones,  while, 
next  day,  the  same  wagon,  without  unloading,  car- 
ried the  same  millstones  back  to  be  used  in  the 
mills  of  the  Issoire  General  Company  of  Flour  and 
Meal !  The  schoolmaster  was  ecstatic  over  the 
stimulus  thus  given  to  several  industries  at  once. 
It  was  like  killing  many  birds  with  one  stone. 
But  the  Issoire  Association  for  the  Home  Produc- 
tion of  Millstones  was  not  satisfied  with  Clermont' 
competition,  even  in  this  peculiar  form,  and  an 
increase  in  the  octroi  soon  put  further  importations 
out  of  the  question. 

There  were  also  some  curious  omissions  in  the 
list,  in  spite  of  its  length  and  complexity.  An  old 
woman,  Widow  Besoin,  who  lived  near  the  Cantal 
gate,  had  five  speckled  Dominick  hens,  of  which 
she  was  very  fond.  These  hens  were  to  her  a 
source  of  profit  as  well  as  pleasure.  She  came  to 
the  mayor  with  the  complaint  that  her  neighbor, 
Farmer  Bois-rouge,  who  lived  just  outside  the  city 
gate,  brought  in  the  eggs  of  his  chickens  free,  and 
sold  them  at  prices  far  below  those  she  was  com- 
pelled to  charge  for  the  eggs  of  her  hens.  The 
Bois-rouge  chickens  roamed  over  the  whole  farm 


THE  FATE   OF  I  CIO  DO  RUM.  20$ 

and  lived  on  grasshoppers  and  gleanings,  while 
hers  were  fed  on  grain  which  had  passed  the  octroi. 
It  seems  that  the  schoolmaster,  in  making  up  the 
octroi  list,  in  arranging  the  0's  had  neglected  to 
look  for  words  beginning  with  oe,  and  so  had 
omitted  the  word  oeuf,  which  is  the  French  for 
'*  egg."  So  the  Council  was  called  together,  a  rate 
for  cenfs  was  agreed  upon,  and  Widow  Besoin's 
Dominick  hens  were  free  from  the  pauper  com- 
petition of  the  chickens  of  Farmer  Bois-rouge. 

But  the  action  of  the  octroi  was  on  the  whole, 
as  I  have  said,  extremely  beneficial.  It  filled  the 
treasury  again,  and  it  stimulated  a  large  number  of 
infant  industries,  which  had  previously  been  unable 
to  compete  with  established  industries  in  surround- 
ing towns,  on  account  of  the  high  prices  of  raw 
materials,  and  especially  of  labor,  at  Issoire.  It  is 
true  that  workman  Jacques  and  some  of  the  other 
laborers  complained  that  these  high  wages  were  high 
in  name  only.  In  Clermont  men  worked  for  three 
francs  a  day;  but  these  three  francs  would  buy 
twelve  yards  of  calico  or  ten  pounds  of  sugar,  while 
the  five  francs  received  in  Issoire  would  buy  but 
ten  yards  of  calico  or  eight  pounds  of  sugar.  But 
the  schoolmaster  wrote  another  letter  to  the 
"  Gazette,"  showing  that  the  question  of  wages 
was  solved  by  an  estimate  of  what  the  laborer 
saved,  not  by  what  he  could  buy  with  his  wages. 
"  Every  workingman,"  said  he,  "  as  statistics  show, 
saves  thirty  per  cent  of  his  wages.  In  Clermont, 
therefore,  the  laborer  lays  up  one  franc  per  day, 
or  three  hundred  francs  per  year.  In  Issoire  he 
lays  up  one  franc  fifty  per  day,  or  four  hundred 


206  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

and  fifty  francs  per  year,  —  a  difference  of  one-half 
in  favor  of  the  workman  at  Issoire  as  compared 
with  the  pauper  labor  of  Clermont." 

The  workman  Jacques  read  this  aloud  in  the  bar- 
room of  the  Lion  d'Or,  and  pondered  over  it  a 
good  deal,  for  the  logic  was  irrefutable ;  and  yet 
after  all  these  years  he  had  not  four  hundred  and 
fifty  francs  which  he  could  call  his  own. 

The  mayor  made  a  speech  to  the  workingmen, 
congratulating  them  on  his  re-election,  and  assuring 
them  that  "  for  them  and  for  them  alone  the  octroi 
was  brought  to  Issoire.  It  was  the  pride  of  Issoire 
that  its  workingmen  were  princes  and  not  paupers. 
If  they  paid  high  prices  for  articles  of  necessity, 
it  was  only  that  they  might  get  higher  prices  in 
return.  You  sell  more  than  you  buy,  and  what 
you  sell,  the  strength  of  your  own  right  arms,  costs 
you  nothing,  and,  when  it  is  sold,  is  as  much  yours 
as  it  was  before.  It  is  God's  bounty  to  the  work- 
ingman.  If  these  industries  which  the  octroi  has 
built  up  around  you  are  left  unprotected,  you  too 
would  be  left  without  defence.  In  the  natural  com- 
petition of  trade,  the  rich  grow  richer  and  the  poor 
poorer.  Without  the  octroi  we  should  behold  here 
as  at  Clermont  the  spectacle  of  the  chariot-wheels 
of  Dives  throwing  dust  into  the  eyes  of  Lazarus. 
But  here  in  Issoire  Lazarus  is,  so  to  speak,  already 
in  Abraham's  bosom.  The  workingmen  of  Issoire 
have  no  truer  friend  than  Issoire's  mayor,  and  to 
cherish  their  interests  is  the  dream  by  day  and 
by  night  of  Issoire's  Common  Council." 

But  we  must  return  to  the  boot-trade,  on  which 
the  octroi  was  first  established.  The  history  of  that 


THE  FATE   OF  ICIODORUM.  2O/ 

industry  is  the  history  of-  all  the  others,  for  in  one 
way  or  another  all  experienced  the  same  changes 
and  conditions. 

The  profits  were  large  at  first,  and  very  soon  the 
Issoire  Citizens'  Foot-wear  Manufacturing  Associa- 
tion had  no  longer  a  monopoly  in  boots  and  shoes. 
The  original  concern  still  retained  the  city  contract 
for  supplying  boots  to  the  laboring-men,  but  the 
others  found  the  general  trade  no  less  profitable. 

But  soon  an  unexpected  decline  in  boot  con- 
sumption took  place.  People  perversely  wore 
their  old  boots,  which  had  long  passed  the  season 
of  presentability.  The  children  went  barefooted 
or  shuffled  around  in  sabots.  Even  worse,  many 
parents  bought  for  their  children  a  new  kind  of 
copper-toed  shoe,  which  was  made  in  Clermont,  — 
a  shoe  that  could  never  wear  out  at  all ;  one  of 
the  worst  possible  things  for  the  shoe-trade  in  any 
country ! 

When  it  was  found  that  boots  and  shoes  enough 
to  last  for  five  years  were  for  sale  in  the  shops,  it 
was  evident  that  something  must  be  done.  The 
original  concern  decided  to  wait.  It  closed  its  fac- 
tory and  discharged  its  workmen.  But  some  of 
the  other  firms  could  not  wait.  They  must  have 
their  money  back  or  go  into  bankruptcy.  Shoes 
began  to  come  down.  Every  shoe-dealer  was 
alarmed,  and  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  Cafe  de 
la  Comedie  to  see  what  could  be  done.  It  was 
decided  to  lower  the  prices  and  then  to  maintain 
them.  Boots  were  rated  at  fifteen  francs  per  pair, 
and  shoes  and  slippers  in  proportion.  But  one 
dealer  could  not  keep  his  promise.  He  had  a  very 


208  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

large  and  handsome  new  shop,  and  he  had  spent 
much  money  in  fitting  it  up.  A  gentleman,  named 
Shylock,  from  whom  he  had  borrowed  the  money, 
said  that  he  had  lent  money  for  legitimate  busi- 
ness, not  for  speculation ;  to  sell  shoes,  not  to  hold 
them  for  higher  prices.  This  stock  of  boots  was 
thus  forced  on  the  market,  to  be  sold  for  what  it 
would  bring.  And  other  dealers  had  to  sell  for 
similar  prices,  or  lose  all  chance  of  selling  at  all. 
And  so  Issoire  was  full  of  notices :  - 

"  GRAND  SLAUGHTER  OF  BOOTS  AND  SHOES  !  " 

"BOOTS  GIVEN  AWAY — ONLY  FlVE  FRANCS  A 

PAIR  ! " 

Boots  were  never  so  cheap  before,  in  Issoire  or 
anywhere  else  in  France. 

The  Issoire  Citizens'  Foot-wear  Manufacturing 
Company  took  no  part  in  these  cheap  sales.  Its 
agents  were  active,  however,  and  they  privately 
bought  up  a  part  of  the  stock  of  the  smaller  stores, 
and  sent  out  several  wagon-loads  across  the  coun- 
try to  Clermont,  and  one  down  the  river  to  the 
farmers  in  the  valley  of  the  Loire. 

It  was  an  era  of  cheap  boots.  Everybody  was 
well  shod.  The  children  burned  up  their  wooden 
shoes,  or  used  them  only  for  coasting  in  the  winter, 
and  there  was  general  satisfaction.  The  Minister 
of  Public  Instruction,  who  spent  a  day  in  Issoire 
on  his  way  from  Marseilles  to  Paris,  had  a  pair  of 
new  boots  presented  to  him,  and  he  showed  them 
at  home,  as  an  example  of  what  the  octroi  could 
do  for  a  town.  "  Boots,"  said  he  to  the  Minister  of 
Finance,  "  are  actually  cheaper  to-day  at  Issoire 


THE  FATE   OF  ICIODORUM.  2OQ 

than  they  are  at  Paris  or  Lyons.  So  much  has 
the  octroi  done  for  my  countrymen."  And  the 
mayor  sent  a  message  of  congratulation,  remind- 
ing the  people  that  his  promises  had  come  true. 
"  The  octroi  has  reduced  the  price  of  boots,  and 
has  demonstrated  the  truth  of  the  paradox  that  the 
quickest  road  to  low  prices  is  to  make  prices  high." 
The  traders  who  had  gone  into  bankruptcy  left 
Issoire  and  were  speedily  forgotten,  —  except  by 
their  creditors,  chief  of  whom  was  Monsieur  Shy- 
lock.  It  did  not  much  matter  about  them,  in  any 
event.  Their  loss  was  the  community's  gain.  It 
was  not  Issoire' s  fault  that  they  were  dealing  on 
borrowed  capital  and  could  not  stand  the  strain  of 
reduced  prices. 

After  the  period  of  congratulation  was  over,  the 
President  of  the  Issoire  Citizens'  Foot-wear  Manu- 
facturing Association  called  the  heads  of  a  few  of 

o 

the  rival  houses  to  his  office.  They  agreed  to- 
gether to  ask  for  an  increase  in  the  octroi,  in  view 
of  the  depressed  condition  of  the  boot-trade,  after 
which  they  would,  in  view  of  the  increase  of  the 
octroi,  raise  the  price  of  boots  to  twenty-five  francs. 
They  formed  a  new  association  called  the  Issoire 
Equitable  Confidence  Society,  the  object  of  which 
was  to  prevent  the  Clermont  dealers  from  flooding 
the  city  with  cheap  boots,  —  a  thing  which  the  latter 
had  been  steadily  on  the  watch  to  accomplish. 
The  Equitable  Society  took  special  pains  to  serve 
Issoire  by  regulating  the  price  of  boots  according 
to  the  city's  real  needs.  The  city  had  suffered 
from  overproduction.  Now,  when  any  firm  out- 
side the  Equitable  Society  tried  to  resume  work, 


210  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

the  price  of  boots  was  suddenly  lowered,  until  the 
competing  dealer  would  be  willing  to  sell  out  on 
favorable  terms  to  some  of  the  society's  members. 
There  were  a  few  dealers  in  Issoire  who  still 
brought  boots  over  from  Clermont.  These  were 
made  to  understand  that  their  course  of  action  was 
unpatriotic,  and  that  it  was  displeasing  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Equitable  Society.  The  office  of  the 
octroi  was  visited  by  several  men  who  accused  one 
of  these  dealers  of  having  silk  stockings  concealed 
in  an  invoice  of  boots  from  Clermont.  All  the 
boxes  were  opened  and  each  boot  examined. 
Then  all  were  thrown  in  a  pile  by  the  side  of  the 
street.  The  owner  gathered  them  up  as  well  as  he 
could ;  but  the  street  boys  helped  him,  and  before 
he  knew  it  several  boys  and  several  pairs  of  boots 
were  missing  together.  And  so  in  a  hundred  ways 
the  Equitable  Society  discouraged  outside  and  in* 
side  competition,  until  at  last  the  entire  boot-trade 
fell  into  its  hands. 

But  the  rise  in  the  cost  of  boots  had  its  effect  on 
the  workingmen.  Clearly  the  increase  in  the  price 
of  boots  was  due  to  the  growth  of  labor,  for  the 
price  of  hides  was  no  greater  than  it  was  before, 
while  the  value  of  hides  made  up  into  boots  was 
materially  higher.  If  a  day's  work  was  worth  five 
francs,  before,  nine  francs  was  not  too  much  now, 
when  labor  was  so  much  more  valuable  to  the 
capitalist. 

The  big  workman  Jacques  thought  this  out,  and 
in  the  caft  of  the  Lion  d'Or  he  advised  the  work- 
ingmen to  march  in  a  body  to  the  President  of  the 
Confidence  Society  to  demand  their  rights.  They 


THE   FATE   OF  1C  10  DO  RUM.  211 

did  so,  with  the  master-workman  Jacques  at  their 
head.  Their  demand  was  nine  francs  a  day,  or  no 
more  boots  in  Issoire.  The  president  had  ex- 
pected this.  In  fact,  he  had  rather  hoped  for  it  ; 
and  so  he  had  kept  a  good  stock  of  boots  in  re- 
serve for  such  an  emergency. 

He  spoke  very  kindly  to  the  deputation,  patted 
Jacques  softly  on  the  arm,  but,  in  brief,  said  that 
the  state  of  the  trade  would  permit  no  increase  of 
wages  at  present.  Next  day  the  doors  of  the  fac- 
tories were  closed,  and  each  workman  received  his 
pay  in  full,  and  his  discharge. 

For  a  week  the  factories  were  empty  and  silent. 
The  Confidence  Society  was  not  idle,  however,  for 
a  trusty  messenger  had  been  sent  at  once  to  the 
village  of  Jonas.  He  offered  four  francs  a  day  to 
the  Jonas  men  if  they  would  come  over  to  work  in 
Issoire.  Now,  Jonas  is  a  queer  little  town,  built 
all  around  the  brow  of  an  old  volcano.  I  doubt  if 
there  is  another  like  it  on  earth.  The  top  of  the 
hill  is  made  of  hard  lava,  below  which  is  a  belt  of 
ashes,  very  old  and  packed  solid,  but  as  easy  to 
cut  as  cheese.  Long  ago  the  ancient  Gauls  bur- 
rowed into  this  hill  and  filled  it  with  their  habita- 
tions. These  appear  like  gigantic  swallows'  nests 
when  you  look  at  the  hill  from  below.  One  of  the 
largest  of  these  houses  is  used  as  a  church,  and  its 
lava  walls  are  rudely  frescoed  over^in  imitation  of 
the  big  church  at  Issoire.  Only  very  poor  people 
live  in  Jonas  now,  —  people  who  cannot  pay  much 
rent,  and  who  do  not  mind  the  absence  of  fire  in 
the  winter.  And  the  Jonas  men  were  glad  to  come 
over  to  Issoire  for  four  francs  a  day,  to  take  up  the 


212  SCIENCE   SKETCHES. 

work  which  the  pampered  laborers  of  Issoire  had 
refused. 

The  coming  of  the  Jonas  men  was  a  great  sur- 
prise in  Issoire,  and  gave  rise  to  much  hard  feeling. 
The  workmen  who  were  idle  met  them  with  eggs 
and  cabbages,  and  some  of  them  even  carried 
bricks.  But  the  gendarmes  were  on  the  side  of 
the  Confidence  Society,  and  they  protected  the 
new  men  from  any  serious  harm.  So  the  mob 
followed  sulkily  in  the  rear,  shouting,  "Rats! 
rats !  "  It  sounded  like  "  Rah,  rah !  "  for  this  is 
the  way  the  French  peasantry  pronounce  the  word 
which  we  call  "  rats." 

Winter  was  now  approaching,  and  the  discharged 
boot-makers  of  Issoire  found  their  condition  daily 
more  and  more  unpleasant.  They  had  an  associa- 
tion among  themselves  called  the  "  Chevaliers  of 
Industry."  The  big  Jacques  was  master-workman, - 
and  they  met  in  the  cafe  of  the  Lion  d'Or  to  dis- 
cuss matters  of  common  interest.  They  had  a 
good  deal  to  say  of  the  power  of  organized  labor, 
the  encroachments  of  capital,  and  maintained  that 
the  value  of  all  things  is  due  solely  to  the  labor 
which  is  put  upon  it.  The  so-called  raw  material, 
—  land,  air,  water,  grass,  cowhide,  shoe-pegs,  —  all 
these  are  God's  bounty  to  men.  No  one  should 
arrogate  these  to  himself,  and  all  should  be  as  free 
as  air.  All  else  in  value  labor  has  given.  Capital, 
the  interloper,  has  unjustly  taken  the  lion's  share, 
and  left  a  pittance  to  labor.  What  capital  has 
thus  taken  is  ours,  for  we  have  made  it.  Then  the 
speaker  referred  to  the  snug  little  capital  which 
the  President  of  the  Confidence  Society  had  laid 


THE   FATE   OF  ICIODORUM.  213 

away  in  his  strong-box,  and  which  shone  out 
through  his  plate-glass  windows  and  made  itself 
felt  in  every  smirk  of  his  self-satisfied  face.  An- 
other speaker  said  that  the  thief  of  labor  was  the 
worst  of  all  thieves,  and  for  them  to  despoil  him 
was  but  to  seek  restoration  of  stolen  goods.  And 
the  schoolmaster  said  that  he  who  takes  for  his 
own  the  value  labor  has  given  is  worse  than  he 
who  robs  upon  the  public  highway,  —  for  he  adds 
hypocrisy  to  theft. 

Some  of  them  counselled  an  immediate  attack 
upon  the  managers  of  the  Confidence  Society,  but 
the  voice  of  master-workman  Jacques  was  for  some 
compromise  which  would  restore  them  to  employ- 
ment. There  had  been  a  considerable  fund  col- 
lected by  the  Chevaliers  of  Industry  in  the  way 
of  dues  and  assessments.  This  fund  he  had  dis- 
tributed among  the  unemployed  laborers,  freely  at 
first,  but  of  late  more  sparingly.  There  were  many 
who  hoped  to  live  through  the  winter  on  this  fund, 
and  these  spoke  in  no  pleasant  terms  of  the  master- 
workman's  stinginess.  The  fund  was  nearly  gone, 
and  Jacques  well  knew  that  if  work  was  not  soon 
resumed,  the  order  of  Chevaliers  of  Industry  would 
come  to  a  sudden  end.  Organized  labor  without 
cash  or  credit  is  very  soon  disorganized. 

A  few  heeded  his  words  of  counsel  and  followed 
his  lead  to  their  homes.  But  the  bolder  spirits 
stiffened  their  resolve  with  the  red  wines  for  which 
the  cafe  of  the  Lion  d'Or  is  so  justly  famous,  and 
started  for  the  residence  of  the  President  of  the 
Confidence  Society.  They  roused  him  from  his 
bed,  killed  one  of  the  Jonas  men  whom  they  found 


214  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

asleep  at  his  door,  insisted  on  an  immediate  divi- 
sion of  his  personal  property,  —  which  he  was  only 
too  willing  to  grant, —  and  next  morning  they 
found  themselves  in  jail,  charged  with  robbery 
and  murder. 

There  was  again  excitement  at  Issoire.  The 
workingmen  held  mass-meetings  at  the  Lion  d'Or, 
and  passed  resolutions  of  sympathy  and  defiance. 
The  wives  and  daughters  of  the  members  of  the 
Common  Council  sent  bouquets  and  baskets  of 
fruit  to  the  prisoners,  and  the  mayor  said  that  he 
loved  them  as  though  they  were  his  own  sons. 
But  the  law  in  France  is  in  higher  hands  than  those 
of  the  municipality.  It  is  swift  and  sure.  The 
prisoners  were  taken  to  the  capital  city,  Clermont, 
to  be  tried.  The  sympathies  of  the  judge  were  on 
the  side  of  capital,  and  he  paid  little  attention  to 
the  plea  of  organized  labor.  "  If  your  theory  is 
true,"  said  the  judge,  "you  have  no  sort  of  claim 
on  the  boots  you  have  demanded  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Equitable  Confidence  Society.  All 
this  labor  you  talk  of  is  simply  the  moving  of 
things  back  and  forth.  How  can  this  confer  value? 
The  real  work  is  done  by  the  cow ;  and  the  herds- 
men on  the  mountains,  who  are  her  heirs  and 
assigns,  are  the  only  persons  who  have  a  natural 
lien  on  the  boots  which  are  made  from  her  hide 
when  she  is  dead.  This  claim  the  herdsmen  have 
assigned  to  capital,  and  to  capital,  therefore,  all 
the  boots  belong." 

It  is  hard  to  fight  against  monopolies.  The  men 
were  condemned.  The  red  flag  was  raised  in  the 
Golden  Lion.  A  good  deal  was  said,  but  nothing 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  10  DO  RUM.  21$ 

further  was  done,  by  organized  labor  toward  tak- 
ing possession  of  its  own. 

A  new  election  was  at  hand,  and  the  mayor's 
party  issued  a  call  to  the  workingmen  to  rally  to 
his  support. 

"  All  who  believe  in  the  grandeur  and  splendor 
of  France,  that  honesty  is  the  best  policy,  that 
the  tricolor  should  ever  wave  victoriously  over  the 
most  glorious  land  the  sun  shines  on,  and  that  the 
Issoire  idea  of  a  perpetual  octroi  is  the  best  secur- 
ity for  the  defence  and  development  of  home 
interests  and  the  elevation  of  home  labor;  all 
who  would  reduce  city  taxes  and  prevent  the  ac- 
cumulation of  money  not  needed  for  city  uses,  by 
the  perpetuation  and  extension  of  the  octroi;  those 
who  are  opposed  to  all  schemes  tending  to  de- 
throne this  policy  and  to  reduce  Issoire's  laborers 
to  the  level  of  the  underpaid  and  oppressed  work- 
ers of  Clermont  and  Jonas,  —  are  called  to  join  in 
the  re-election  of  Mayor  de  Roncevalle  and  of  his 
supporters  in  the  Common  Council." 

The  mayor  spoke  from  the  steps  of  the  H6tel 
de  Ville  in  defence  of  the  octroi,  on  the  success 
of  which  agency  he  justly  based  his  claim  for 
re-election. 

He  showed  how  the  octroi  had  changed  Issoire 
from  a  dull  and  peaceful  agricultural  village  with 
few  industries,  and  those  only  the  ones  for  which 
the  town  possessed  special  advantages,  into  a  mi- 
crocosm in  which  a  little  of  everything  was  made 
and  sold.  Issoire  was  no  longer  a  town  where 
nothing  happened,  and  in  which  the  procession  of 
grain-wagons,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and 


2l6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

to-morrow,  wearied  the  eye  and  the  ear  with  their 
ceaseless  monotony.  It  was  a  city  in  which  the 
clashing  of  interests  and  the  fluctuation  of  prices 
made  every  one  anxious  for  the  morrow's  sun  to 
rise  that  he  might  see  what  would  happen  next. 
He  spoke  of  the  promising  infant,  the  industry  of 
boot-making,  which  had  always  stood  in  the  fore- 
front of  Issoire's  development  He  touched  lightly 
on  the  late  labor  difficulties,  as  a  mere  incident  in 
the  city's  progress,  "  a  spark  struck  out  from  the 
clashing  of  great  interests  as  from  flint  and  steel." 
"  Different  directions  may  produce  such,"  said  he, 
unconsciously  quoting  from  an  earlier  economist; 
"  nay,  different  velocities  in  the  same  direction." 
Then  he  spoke  of  the  value  of  the  octroi  to  the 
workingman  and  of  the  charmed  life  he  leads  at 
Issoire.  He  repeated  all  the  arguments  drawn 
from  the  prices  of  boots  and  the  prices  of  labor 
which  the  schoolmaster  had  written  out  for  him, 
and  everything  went  on  beautifully  till  near  the 
close,  when  the  master-workman  Jacques  rose  to 
ask  a  question. 

"  How  is  it,"  said  he,  "  if  the  lot  of  the  working- 
man  is  so  pleasant  in  Issoire,  that  there  is  not  a 
single  workingman  from  Issoire  in  one  of  the  fac- 
tories in  this  city  ?  How  is  it  that  the  mills  are 
full  of  paupers  and  '  rats '  from  Clermont  and 
Jonas  ?  How  is  it  that  the  census  shows  that 
Issoire  is  actually  poorer  to-day  than  she  was  ten 
years  ago,  that  her  pauper  roll  is  ten  times  as 
large,  and  the  only  citizens  who  have  grown  rich 
are  the  city  officers  and  the  members  of  Issoire's 
iniquitous  Equitable  Confidence  Societies  ?  If  the 


THE   FATE   OF  1C  IO  DO  RUM, 


octroi  is  to  benefit  the  laborers  of  Issoire,  why 
don't  you  put  it  on  the  outside  fellows  who  swarm 
in  Issoire,  and  not  on  the  Issoire  laborers'  food  and 
clothing?  It  seems  to  me,  sir,  that  when  a  city 
begins  to  fix  things  to  help  one  set  of  men  and 
then  another,  rather  than  to  consider  the  common 
good  of  all,  it  is  on  dangerous  ground.  Once 
started  on  this  sort  of  thing,  everybody  clamors  for 
his  share.  Every  man  too  lazy  to  work,  and  every 
man  whose  business  does  not  pay,  seems  to  think 
that  the  rest  of  the  town  owe  him  a  living." 
Warming  up  with  the  subject,  he  continued  : 
"  Take  .this  millstone  business  of  yours,  for  ex- 
ample. It  is  all  folly  to  talk  of  the  wealth  in  your 
stone-quarries,  if  you  have  to  hire  their  owners  to 
work  them.  If  we  can  buy  millstones  in  Clermont 
for  less  than  it  costs  to  cut  them  in  Issoire,  it  is 
money  in  our  pockets  to  leave  them  in  the  ground. 
If  any  line  of  business  needs  to  be  constantly 
propped  up,  and  cannot  live  except  at  the  expense 
of  its  neighbors,  it  is  no  industry  at  all.  It  is  a 
beggary.  And  this  octroi  of  yours  has  made  a 
beggar  or  a  brigand  of  every  industry  in  Issoire  !  " 
But  the  mayor  waved  his  hand  and  smiled,  and  said 
that  some  men  were  never  satisfied.  They  would 
grumble  about  the  golden  pavements  of  the  New 
Jerusalem,  if  they  could  not  turn  them  into  legal 
tender.  Then  he  referred  to  a  conspiracy  among 
men  suborned  by  Clermont  gold,  to  flood  the 
streets  of  Issoire  with  cheap  bread  and  meat  and 
potatoes  and  clothing.  He  asked  all  who  wanted 
to  be  slaves  to  Clermont  to  rise  and  be  counted, 
He  showed  that,  of  all  people  on  earth,  the  people 


2l8  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

of  France  were  the  happiest;  of  all  people  in 
France,  those  of  Issoire  were  most  favored ;  and  of 
those  in  Issoire,  the  best  of  all  were  the  working- 
men,  the  especial  guardians  of  the  Issoire  idea. 

Meanwhile  the  extension  of  the  octroi  to  three 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  seventy-two  articles 
had  greatly  increased  the  wealth  of  the  city,  and 
the  city  treasurer's  strong-box  was  so  full  that  he 
had  to  make  a  second  one,  and  to  hire  three  trusty 
Clermont  men  to  watch  it  day  and  night,  and  then 
three  men  from  Jonas  to  watch  the  first  three. 
What  should  be  done  with  the  money  to  keep  it 
in  circulation?  For  if  it  remained  locked  up,  the 
wheels  of  industry  would  soon  begin  to  creak,  and 
creaking  is  a  sign  that  wheels  need  oiling. 

The  mayor  had  proposed  to  divide  it  among  the 
several  Equitable  Confidence  Societies,  in  order  to 
encourage  industry,  and  thus  enable  these  com- 
panies to  raise  still  higher  the  high  wages  of  the 
men  from  Jonas,  who  were  now  the  only  laborers 
employed  in  Issoire.  But  this  was  objected  to  in 
several  quarters,  especially  by  the  followers  of  the 
workman  Jacques,  who  did  not  like  to  trust  the 
Equitable  Societies  to  make  such  a  division. 

The  schoolmaster  wanted  it  divided  among  the 
school-children  pro  rata,  in  proportion  to  their 
raggedness.  This  was  favored  by  almost  every 
one,  because  it  would  benefit  the  laboring-man  and 
help  on  the  clothing-trade ;  but  the  politicians 
objected  to  giving  money  to  the  poor,  because 
such  giving  tends  simply  to  enervate.  The  very 
fact  that  a  man  is  poor  shows  that  he  is  not  fitted 
to  take  care  of  money.  Some  wanted  the  city 


THE  FATE   OF  1C  10  DO  RUM.  2IQ 

wall  built  up  so  high  that  no  one  could  see  out  of 
the  town,  and  then  to  have  the  top  so  beset  with 
broken  bottles  that  no  one  could  climb  over.  A 
few  of  the  extreme  devotees  of  the  Issoire  idea 
wanted  the  surplus  devoted  to  destroying  the 
roads  to  Clermont,  that  all  danger  from  the  flood 
of  cheap  goods  with  which  that  city  stood  always 
ready  to  overwhelm  Issoire  would  be  removed 
forever.  One  of  the  Council  even  wished  to  use  it 
for  the  permanent  closing  of  all  the  city  gates  ;  for, 
as  he  said,  "  if  we  are  good  citizens  we  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with  abroad." 

But  the  private  secretary  of  the  mayor  remarked 
that  altogether  too  much  had  been  said  of  this 
matter  of  surplus  revenue.  "  It  is  a  good  deal 
easier,"  he  remarked  sagely,  "  to  manage  a  sur- 
plus than  a  deficit."  Then  the  mayor  said :  "  It 
is  much  better  to  have  too  much  money  than  too 
little.  That  is  what  constitutes  prosperity.  I 
would  n't  mind  having  a  little  surplus  myself." 
Then  the  Council  laughed,  and  each  one  thought 
of  what  he  could  do  with  his  share  of  the  surplus, 
while  they  discussed  some  plans  which  looked 
toward  an  equitable  distribution  of  it  in  places 
where  it  would  do  the  most  good. 

The  workman  Jacques,  who  was  now  a  member 
of  the  Council,  and  who  had  been  selected  as  the 
opposition  candidate  for  mayor,  rose  and  said : 
"  This  octroi  stuff  is  all  nonsense.  It  is  a  tax  to 
make  things  higher,  and  it  comes  out  of  our 
pockets.  That  is  why  we  are  so  poor.  The 
mayor  says  that  it  is  collected  from  the  Clermont 
merchants.  The  mayor  lies.  What  does  a  Cler- 


220  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

mont  merchant  care  whether  we  pay  him  ten 
francs  for  a  pair  of  boots  outside  the  city  gates,  or 
twenty  francs  inside,  after  he  has  paid  ten  francs 
toll?  It  is  all  the  same  to  him.  He  loses  nothing 
either  way,  except  that  our  ridiculous  laws  have 
lost  him  a  good  customer  for  his  woollen  -goods, 
and  we  have  lost  a  good  customer  for  our  wines 
and  wheat.  If  I  can  save  ten  francs  by  buying  my 
boots  at  Clermont,  have  I  not  a  right  to  save  it, 
and  whose  business  is  it  if  I  do?  The  octroi  is 
putting  into  the  city  treasury  every  year  fifty  thou- 
sand francs  more  than  the  city  has  any  honest  use 
for,  and  the  whole  town  will  go  into  bankruptcy  if 
this  goes  on  for  three  years  more.  There  is  n't 
money  enough  in  the  city  to  keep  up  this  surplus. 
The  money  cannot  get  out  of  the  treasury  unless 
some  one  steals  it  out  and  puts  it  into  circulation ; 
and,  if  I  understand  you,  gentlemen,  this  is  just 
what  you  propose  to  do." 

This  speech  was  the  sensation  of  the  day.  It 
was  spoken  with  a  blunt  earnestness  such  as  well- 
meaning  but  ignorant  men  are  often  found  to 
possess.  Its  sophistries  were  not  at  first  apparent, 
for  the  very  reason  that  the  speaker  himself  did 
not  know  them  to  be  sophistries. 

It  was  printed  next  morning  in  the  Issoire 
"  fitoile,"  and  it  made  many  converts  among  those 
who  were  unable  to  expose  its  errors.  The  land- 
lord of  the  Hotel  de  la  Poste  indorsed  it,  because 
the  patronage  of  that  excellent  hostelry  had 
greatly  declined  since  the  cessation  of  the  barter 
with  Clermont.  Some  of  the  manufacturers  favored 
it,  for  they  were  looking  for  wider  outlets  foe  their 


THE  FATE   OF  1C IO  DO  RUM.  221 

trade,  as  the  market  of  Tssoire  was  soon  glutted, 
and  the  octroi  increased  the  cost  of  manufacture 
even  more  than  it  raised  the  price  of  the  finished 
goods.  The  politicians  said  that  Jacques'  words 
might  be  true  enough  in  theory,  but  talk  like  that 
would  ruin  any  man's  chances  in  a  popular  elec- 
tion. Jacques  should  have  remembered  that  he 
was  a  candidate. 

The  parish  priest,  who  seldom  meddled  with 
politics,  declared  that  the  address  was  timely  and 
patriotic,  and  that  the  real  friend  of  the  laboring- 
man  was  the  man  who  gave  him  justice  instead  of 
patronage.  What  he  needs  is  a  free  field  and  fair 
play.  Those  who  coddle  the  working-man  mean 
sooner  or  later  to  pick  his  pockets.  He  further 
said  that,  in  his  opinion,  the  mayor  and  Council 
were  wrong  in  their  theories  of  wealth.  Their 
fundamental  error  was  this,  —  that  they  were  try- 
ing to  make  the  people  of  this  city  grow  rich  off 
each  other.  The  mayor  had  said  that  the  bless- 
ings of  the  octroi  come  to  certain  classes,  but  they 
do  not  stop  there.  They  diffuse  themselves  like 
water,  and  their  beneficent  influence  is  felt  on 
every  hand.  But  these  benefits  come  to  the  rich 
first,  and  from  the  top  they  spread  down  very 
slowly.  But  the  evil  influences  of  the  octroi  diffuse 
themselves  in  the  same  way.  The  only  difference 
is  that  they  begin  at  the  bottom  with  the  working- 
man,  and  are  nearly  exhausted  when  they  reach 
the  top.  The  priest  even  marched  in  a  procession 
which  went  through  the  streets,  carrying  banners 
inscribed  "  Vive  Jacques,  the  Master- Workman  !  " 
"  A  bas  1'Octroi !  "  "  Away  with  Useless  Taxes  !  >r 


222  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

For  he  was  an  unpractical  man,  easily  swayed  by 
theories  rather  than  by  emotions. 

But  the  reaction  soon  came,  as  it  always  comes 
in  the  politics  of  France.  That  it  came  so  early 
was  due  to  the  Clermont  newspapers.  They  pub- 
lished Jacques's  speech  in  full,  with  words  of  great 
approbation. 

In  the  Clermont  "  Liberal "  were  the  head-lines : 
"  Long  live  Mayor  Jacques  !  "  "  Down  with  the 
Demagogues  !  "  "  Issoire  coming  to  her  senses  !  " 
"  The  Working-men  repudiate  the  Octroi !  "  "Good 
Prospects  for  the  Clermont  Trade  !  " 

It  was  on  the  very  eve  of  the  election  that  the 
Clermont  papers  were  received  in  Issoire.  It  was 
enough.  What  sophistry  had  seduced,  patriotism 
reclaimed.  The  mayor  said  that  if  Jacques  was 
elected,  the  octroi  would  be  removed  at  once, 
every  man  in  Issoire  would  be  ruined,  and  the 
city,  bound  hand  and  foot,  would  be  delivered  over 
to  Clermont.  Ten  wagon-loads  of  goods  would  be 
sent  in  the  place  of  one,  and  not  all  the  money  in 
the  whole  city  would  suffice  to  pay  for  them. 
Then  he  read  from  the  Clermont  "  Liberal "  an 
editorial  in  which  Jacques  was  compared  to 
Arnold  Winkelried  and  to  Charles  Martel  and  to 
Saint  Austremoine,  the  first  hero  and  martyr  of 
Issoire.  The  effect  was  tremendous.  Every  word 
from  Clermont  in  praise  of  Jacques  was,  as  the 
mayor  said,  "  one  more  nail  in  his  coffin." 

The  election-day  came  at  last  —  as  such  days 
always  come.  It  was  a  bright  Sabbath  afternoon 
in  early  August,  for  in  France  elections  are  always 
held  on  Sunday  afternoons.  The  birds  sang  in 


\BKAfl Y 
v- 

.£ITV 
^ATE:^$P*-  ICIODOR  UM.  22$ 

the  poplar-trees,  the  wheat-fields  looked  yellow 
through  the  city  gates,  the  poppies  along  the 
hedgerows  stood  out  in  scarlet  contrast,  the  Cafe 
du  Lion  d'Or  was  covered  with  flags  and  with  red 
ribbons  in  honor  of  Jacques,  while  the  Cafe  de  la 
Comedie  was  similarly  draped  in  blue  in  honor  of 
his  rival.  The  people  were  out  in  their  best  clothes 
and  Issoire-made  boots,  and  the  candidates  were 
among  them,  —  all  smiles  and  attention,  though  I 
thought  that  a.  slightly  misanthropic  expression 
lurked  about  the  big  workman's  mouth. 

The  bands  played,  and  rival  processions  moved 
about  in  the  street.  The  longest  of  these  carried 
banners  inscribed  "  Vive  1'Octroi !  A  bas  Cler- 
mont !  Le  Surplus  toujours  !  De  Roncevalle  for- 
ever !"  Everybody  seemed  falling  into  line;  and 
so  I  followed,  keeping  step  with  the  music. 

All  at  once  I  heard  a  fearful,  blood-curdling 
scream.  The  procession  swiftly  dissolved,  the 
music  ceased,  the  banners  vanished.  I  rubbed  my 
eyes  and  looked  about  me.  I  was  sitting  on  an 
inverted  nail-keg  at  the  Glermont  gate  just  out- 
side the  city  of  Issoire.  The  old  gendarme  who 
guarded  the  gate  was  slowly  drawing  a  dripping 
sword  out  of  a  large  bundle  of  oats,  in  which  he 
had  thrust  it  while  performing  his  duty  as  inspec- 
tor. Within  the  oats  was  great  excitement.  The 
contraband  pig  concealed  inside  was  lustily  kick- 
ing and  filling  the- air  with  his  frantic  screams. 

And  thus  I  knew  that  the  city  had  been  saved, 
for  the  octroi  was  still  going  on. 

And  it  is  going  on  yet. 


224  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 


THE   STORY  OF  A   STONE. 

ONCE  on  a  time,  a  great  many  years  ago,  so 
many  many  years  that  one  grows  very 
tired  in  trying  to  think  how  long  ago  it  was ;  in 
those  old  days  when  the  great  Northwest  consisted 
of  a  few  ragged  and  treeless  hills,  full  of  copper 
and  quartz,  bordered  by  a  dreary  waste  of  sand- 
flats,  over  which  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  rolled  its 
warm  and  turbid  waters  as  far  north  as  Escanaba 
and  Eau  Claire ;  in  the  days  when  Marquette  Har- 
bor opened  out  towards  Baffin's  Bay,  and  the 
Northern  Ocean  washed  the  crest  of  Mount  Wash- 
ington and  wrote  its  name  upon  the  Pictured 
Rocks ;  when  the  tide  of  the  Pacific,  hemmed  in 
by  no  snow-capped  Sierras,  came  rushing  through 
the  Golden  Gate  between  the  Ozarks  and  the 
north  peninsula  of  Michigan,  and  swept  over 
Plymouth  Rock,  and  surged  up  against  Bunker 
Hill ;  in  the  days  when  it  would  have  been  fun  to 
study  geography,  for  there  were  no  capitals,  nor 
any  products,  and  all  the  towns  were  seaports ;  —  in 
fact,  an  immensely  long  time  ago  there  lived  some- 
where in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  State  of 
Wisconsin,  not  far  from  the  city  of  Oconto,  a  little 
jelly-fish.  It  was  a  curious  little  fellow,  about  the 
shape  of  half  an  apple,  and  the  size  of  a  pin's  head  ; 
and  it  floated  around  in  the  water,  and  ate  little 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STONE.  22$ 

things,  and  opened  and  shut  its  umbrella  pretty 
much  as  the  jelly-fishes  do  now  on  a  sunny  day  ofif 
Nahant  Beach  when  the  tide  is  coming  in.  It  had  a 
great  many  little  feelers  that  hung  down  all  around 
like  so  many  little  snakes ;  so  it  was  named  Me- 
dusa, after  a  queer  woman  who  lived  a  long  while 
ago,  when  all  sorts  of  stories  were  true.  She 
wore  snakes  instead  of  hair,  and  used  to  turn  peo- 
ple into  stone  images  if  they  dared  to  make  faces 
at  her.  So  this  little  Medusa  floated  around,  and 
opened  and  shut  her  umbrella  for  a  good  while,  — 
a  month  or  two,  perhaps,  we  don't  know  how  long. 
Then  one  morning,  down  among  the  sea-weeds,  she 
laid  a  whole  lot  of  tiny  eggs,  transparent  as  crab- 
apple  jelly,  and  smaller  than  the  dew-drop  on  the 
end  of  a  pine  leaf.  That  was  the  last  thing  she 
did ;  so  .she  died,  and  our  story  henceforth  concerns 
only  one  of  those  little  eggs. 

One  day  the  sun  shone  down  into  the  water, — 
the  same  sun  that  shines  over  the  Oconto  saw-mills 
now,  —  and  touched  these  eggs  with  life ;  and  a  lit- 
tle fellow  whom  we  will  call  Favosites,  because  that 
was  his  name,  woke  up  inside  of  the  egg,  and  came 
out  into  the  world.  He  was  only  a  little  piece  of 
floating  jelly,  shaped  like  a  cartridge  pointed  at 
both  ends,  or  like  a  grain  of  barley,  although  very 
much  smaller.  He  had  a  great  number  of  little 
paddles  on  his  sides.  These  kept  flapping  all  the 
time,  so  that  he  was  constantly  in  motion.  And 
at  night  all  these  little  paddles  shone  with  a  rich 
green  light,  to  show  him  the  way  through  the 
water.  It  would  have  done  you  good  to  see  them 
some  night  when  all  the  little  fellows  had  their 


226  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

lamps  burning  at  once,  and  every  wave  as  it  rose 
and  fell  was  all  aglow  with  Nature's  fireworks, 
which  do  not  burn  the  fingers,  and  leave  no  smell 
of  sulphur. 

So  the  little  Favosites  kept  scudding  along  in 
the  water,  dodging  from  one  side  to  the  other  to 
avoid  the  ugly  creatures  that  tried  to  eat  him. 
There  were  crabs  and  clams  of  a  fashion  neither 
you  nor  I  shall  ever  see  alive.  There  were  huge 
animals  with  great  eyes,  savage  jaws  like  the  beak 
of  a  snapping  turtle  and  surrounded  by  long 
feelers.  They  sat  in  the  end  of  a  long  round  shell, 
shaped  like  a  length  of  stove-pipe,  and  glowered 
like  an  owl  in  a  hollow  log;  and  there  were  smaller 
ones  that  looked  like  lobsters  in  a  dinner-horn. 
But  none  of  these  caught  the  little  fellow,  else  I 
should  not  have  had  this  story  to  tell. 

At  last,  having  paddled  about  long  enough,- 
Favosites  thought  of  settling  in  life.  So  he  looked 
around  till  he  found  a  flat  bit  of  shell  that  just 
suited  him.  Then  he  sat  down  upon  it  and  grew 
fast,  like  old  Holger  Danske  in  the  Danish  myth, 
or  Frederic  Barbarossa  in  the  German  one.  He 
did  not  go  to  sleep,  however,  but  proceeded  to 
make  himself  a  home.  He  had  no  head,  but  be- 
tween his  shoulders  he  made  an  opening  which 
would  serve  him  for  mouth  and  stomach.  Then 
he  put  a  whole  row  of  feelers  out,  and  commenced 
catching  little  worms  and  floating  eggs  and  bits  of 
jelly  and  bits  of  lime,  —  everything  he  could  get,  — 
and  cramming  them  into  his  mouth.  He  had  a 
great  many  curious  ways,  but  the  funniest  of  them 
all  was  what  he  did  with  the  bits  of  lime.  He  kept 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STOXE.  22 / 

taking  them  in,  and  tried  to  wall  himself  up  inside 
with  them,  as  a  person  would  "  stone  a  well,"  or  as 
though  a  man  should  swallow  pebbles,  and  stow 
them  away  in  his  feet  and  all  around  under  the 
skin,  till  he  had  filled  himself  all  full  with  them,  as 
the  man  filled  Jim  Smiley's  frog. 

Little  Favosites  became  lonesome  all  alone  in 
the  bottom  of  that  old  ocean  among  so  many 
outlandish  neighbors.  So  one  night  when  he  was 
fast  asleep,  and  dreaming  as  only  a  coral  animal 
can  dream,  there  sprouted  out  from  his  side,  some- 
where near  where  his  sixth  rib  might  have  been 
if  he  had  had  any  ribs,  another  little  Favosites; 
and  this  one  very  soon  began  to  eat  worms  and  to 
wall  himself  up  as  if  for  dear  life.  Then  from 
these  two  another  and  another  little  bud  came  out, 
and  other  little  Favosites  were  formed.  They  all 
kept  growing  up  higher  and  cramming  themselves 
fuller  and  fuller  of  stone,  till  at  last  there  were  so 
many  and  they  were  so  crowded  together  that 
there  was  not  room  for  them  to  grow  round,  and 
so  they  had  to  become  six-sided  like  the  cells  of  a 
honeycomb.  .  Once  in  a  while  some  one  in  the 
company  would  feel  jealous  because  the  others 
got  more  of  the  worms,  or  would  feel  uneasy  at 
sitting  still  so  long  and  swallowing  lime.  Such 
a  one  would  secede  from  the  little  union  with- 
out even  saying  "  good-by,"  and  would  put  on 
the  airs  of  the  grandmother  Medusa,  and  would 
sail  around  in  the  water,  opening  and  shutting 
its  umbrella,  at  last  laying  more  eggs,  which  for 
all  we  know  may  have  hatched  out  into  more 
Favosites. 


228  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

So  the  old  Favosites  died,  or  ran  away,  or  were 
walled  up  by  the  younger  ones,  and  new  ones 
filled  their  places,  and  the  colony  thrived  for  a 
long  while,  until  it  had  accumulated  a  large  stock 
of  lime. 

But  one  day  there  came  a  freshet  in  the  Meno- 
monee  River,  or  in  some  other  river,  and  piles  of 
dirt  and  sand  and  mud  were  brought  down,  and  all 
the  little  Favosites'  mouths  were  filled  with  it.  This 
they  did  not  like,  and  so  they  died ;  but  we  know 
that  the  rock-house  they  were  building  was  not 
spoiled,  for  we  have  it  here.  But  it  was  tumbled 
about  a  good  deal  in  the  dirt,  and  the  rolling  peb- 
bles knocked  the  corners  off,  and  the  mud  worked 
into  the  cracks,  and  its  beautiful  color  was  de- 
stroyed. There  it  lay  in  the  mud  for  ages,  till  the 
earth  gave  a  great  long  heave  that  raised  Wisconsin 
out  of  the  ocean,  and  the  mud  around  our  little 
Favosites  packed  and  dried  into  hard  rock  and 
closed  it  in.  So  it  became  part  of  the  dry  land, 
and  lay  embedded  in  the  rocks  for  centuries  and 
centuries,  while  the  old-fashioned  ferns  grew  above 
it,  and  whispered  to  it  strange  stories  of  what  was 
going  on  above  ground  in  the  land  where  things 
were  living. 

Then  the  time  of  the  first  fishes  came,  and  the 
other  animals  looked  in  wonder  at  them,  as  the 
Indians  looked  on  Columbus.  Some  of  them  were 
like  the  little  gar-pike  of  our  river  here,  only 
much  larger,  —  big  as  a  stove-pipe,  and  with  a  crust 
as  hard  as  a  turtle's.  Then  there  were  sharks,  of 
strange  forms,  and  some  of  them  had  teeth  like 
bowie-knives,  with  tempers  to  match.  And  the 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STONE. 


time  of  the  old  fishes  came  and  went,  and  many 
more  times  came  and  went,  but  still  Favosites  lay 
in  the  ground  at  Oconto. 

Then  came  the  long,  hot,  wet  summer,  when  the 
mists  hung  over  the  earth  so  thick  that  you  might 
have  had  to  cut  your  way  through  them  with  a 
knife;  and  great  ferns  and  rushes,  big  as  an  oak 
and  tall  as  a  steeple,  grew  in  the  swamps  of  Indi- 
ana and  Illinois.  Their  green  plumes  were  so  long 
and  so  densely  interwoven  that  the  Man  of  the 
Moon  might  have  fancied  that  the  earth  was  feath- 
ering out.  Then  all  about,  huge  reptiles,  with  jaws 
like  the  gates  of  doom  and  teeth  like  cross-cut 
saws,  and  little  reptiles  with  wings  like  bats, 
crawled,  and  swam,  and  flew. 

But  the  ferns  died,  and  the  reptiles  died,  and 
the  rush-trees  fell  in  the  swamps,  and  the  Illinois 
and  the  Sangamon  and  the  Wabash  and  all  the 
other  rivers  covered  them  up.  They  stewed  away 
under  layers  of  clay  and  sand,  till  at  last  they 
turned  into  coal  and  wept  bitter  tears  of  petro- 
leum. But  all  this  while  Favosites  lay  in  the  rocks 
in  Wisconsin. 

Then  the  mists  cleared  away,  and  the  sun  shone, 
and  the  grass  began  to  grow,  and  strange  animals 
came  from  somewhere  or  nowhere  to  feed  upon  it. 
There  were  queer  little  striped  horses,  with  three 
or  four  hoofs  on  each  foot,  and  no  bigger  than  a 
Newfoundland  dog,  but  as  smart  as  ever  you  saw. 
There  were  great  hairy  elephants  with  teeth  like 
sticks  of  wood.  There  were  hogs  with  noses  so 
long  that  they  could  sit  on  their  hind  legs  and  root. 
And  there  were  many  still  stranger  creatures  which 


230  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

no  man  ever  saw  alive.  But  still  Favosites  lay  in 
the  ground  and  waited. 

And  the  long,  long  summer  passed  by,  and  the 
autumn  and  the  Indian  summer.  At  last  the  win- 
ter came,  and  it  snowed  and  snowed,  and  it  was  so 
cold  that  the  snow  did  not  go  off  till  the  Fourth  of 
July.  Then  it  snowed  and  snowed  till  the  snow  did 
not  go  off  at  all.  And  then  it  became  so  cold  that 
it  snowed  all  the  time,  till  the  snow  covered  the 
animals,  and  then  the  trees,  and  then  the  mountains. 
Then  it  would  thaw  a  little,  and  streams  of  v/ater 
would  run  over  the  snow.  Then  it  would  freeze 
again,  and  the  snow  would  pack  into  solid  ice.  So 
it  went  on  snowing  and  thawing  and  freezing,  till 
nothing  but  snow-banks  could  be  seen  in  Wisconsin, 
and  most  of  Indiana  was  fit  only  for  a  skating-rink. 
And  the  animals  and  plants  which  could  get  away, 
all  went  south  to  live,  and  the  others  died  and  were 
frozen  into  the  snow. 

So  it  went  on  for  a  great  many  years.  I  dare 
not  tell  you  how  long,  for  you  might  not  believe 
me.  Then  the  spring  came,  the  south  winds  blew, 
and  the  snow  began  to  thaw.  Then  the  ice  came 
sliding  down  from  the  mountains  and  hills,  and 
from  the  north  toward  the  south.  It  went  on, 
tearing  up  rocks,  little  and  big,  from  the  size  of  a 
chip  to  the  size  of  a  house,  crushing  forests  as  you 
would  crush  an  egg-shell,  and  wiping  out  rivers  as 
you  would  wipe  out  a  chalk-mark.  So  it  came  push- 
ing, grinding,  thundering  along,  —  not  very  fast, 
you  understand,  but  with  tremendous  force,  like  a 
plough  drawn  by  a  million  oxen,  for  a  thousand  feet 
of  ice  is  very  heavy.  And  the  ice-plough  scraped 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STONE.  23  I 

over  Oconto,  and  little  Favosites  was  torn  from 
the  place  where  he  had  lain  so  long;  but  by  good 
fortune  he  happened  to  fall  into  a  crevice  of  the  ice 
where  he  was  not  much  crowded,  else  he  would 
have  been  ground  to  powder  and  I  should  not  have 
had  this  story  to  tell.  And  the  ice  melted  as  it  slid 
along,  and  it  made  great  torrents  of  water,  which, 
as  they  swept  onward,  covered  the  land  with  clay 
and  pebbles.  At  last  the  ice  came  to  a  great 
swamp  overgrown  with  tamarack  and  balsam.  It 
melted  here ;  and  all  the  rocks  and  stones  and  dirt 
it  had  carried,  —  little  Favosites  and  all,  —  were 
dumped  into  one  great  heap. 

It  was  a  very  long  time  after,  and  man  had  been 
created,  and  America  had  been  discovered,  and 
the  War  of  the  Revolution  and  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion  had  all  been  fought  to  the  end,  and  a 
great  many  things  had  happened,  when  one  day 
a  farmer  living  near  Grand  Chute,  in  Outagamie 
County,  Wisconsin,  was  ploughing  up  his  clover- 
field  to  sow  to  winter  wheat.  He  picked  up  in  the 
furrow  a  curious  little  bit  of  "  petrified  honeycomb," 
a  good  deal  worn  and  dirty,  but  still  showing  plainly 
the  honey-cells  and  the  bee-bread.  Then  he  put  it 
into  his  pocket 'and  carried  it  home,  and  gave  it  to 
his  boy  Charley  to  take  to  the  teacher  and  hear 
what  he  would  say  about  it.  And  this  is  what  he 
said. 


232  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 


AN  ASCENT   OF  THE   MATTERHORN. 

N  old  miner  of  '49  whom  I  once  met  in 
California  said  to  me,  as  we  came  in  sight 
of  the  snowy  crests  of  Tuolumne  and  Calaveras : 
"These  mountains  are  not  appreciated  in  Cali- 
fornia. We  used  to  dig  and  dig  in  them,  and  that 
was  the  end  of  it.  The  fact  is,  stranger,  a  man 
ought  to  have  two  lives,  —  one  to  get  a  living  in, 
the  other  to  look  at  the  mountains." 

But  there  are  some  on  whom  the  mountains 
have  the  first  claim ;  and  so  there  has  arisen  the 
Alpenclub,  —  the  guild  of  mountain-lovers  whose- 
"  feet  are  beautiful  upon  the  mountains,"  and  to 
which  such  men  as  De  Saussure  and  Agassiz  and 
Tyndall  and  Balfour  have  been  proud  to  belong. 

And  thus  it  happened  that  on  the  tenth  day  of 
August,  1 88 1,  a  party  of  young  people  from  In- 
diana, mountain-lovers  of  varying  degrees,  walked 
over  the  snowy  pass  called  the  Matterjoch,  which 
leads  from  Italy  across  the  Pennine  Alps  into 
Switzerland.  And  ever  before  us  and  above  us  as 
we  came  up  the  green  valley  of  Tournanche,  ever 
before  us  as  we  toiled  up  the  pass, —  above  us  every- 
where, dark,  majestic,  inaccessible,  rose  the  huge 
pyramid  of  the  grandest  of  the  Alps.  No  one 
who  has  ever  seen  it  can  ever  forget  its  form.  It 
burns  itself  into  the  memory  as  nothing  else  in  all 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        233 

Europe  does.  Shut  your  eyes  for  a  moment,  you 
who  have  been  at  Zermatt,  and  straight  before  you 
and  above  you,  its  long  hand  clutching  at  the  sky, 
you  will  see  the  Matterhorn  !  It  is  not  the  highest 
mountain  of  the  Alps.  Its  gigantic  neighbors  — 
Monte  Rosa,  the  Mischabelhorn,  the  Weisshorn,  as 
well  as  Mont  Blanc  —  are  all  higher, —  a  little  ;  but 
no  other  mountain  in  the  world  makes  such  use  of 
its  height  as  the  Matterhorn.  Other  high  moun- 
tains have  great  rounded  heads,  white  with  the 
snows  of  eternity.  Their  harsher  angles  are  worn 
away  by  the  long  action  of  the  glaciers.  But  the 
Matterhorn  is  a  creature  of  the  sun  and  frost. 
No  glacier  has  worn  its  angles  into  curves.  Its 
slopes  are  too  steep  for  snow  to  cling  to,  and  all 
the  snow  which  winter  or  summer  falls  upon  it 
rolls  down  its  sides  and  lies  in  three  great  ice- 
heaps  at  the  bottom.  These  are  the  Furggen 
glacier,  the  Matterhorn  glacier,  and  the  glacier  of 
Tiefenmatten. 

We  had  wandered  about  Zermatt  for  a  day  or 
two,  seeing  the  sights  in  the  usual  way,  and  all  the 
while  the  Matterhorn  hung  above  our  heads  and 
dared  us  to  come.  At  last  we  could  stand  it  no 
longer;  and  one  evening  when  the  "  stalwarts " 
were  gathered  together  on  the  stone-wall  in  front 
of  the  Hotel  Monte  Rosa,  Gilbert  said  unto  Beach, 
"  We  must  do  something  big  before  we  leave  this 
place.  Let  us  go  up  the  Matterhorn ! "  And 
Beach  said,  "  We  must  indeed.  I  will  go  if  Jordan 
will." 

But  Jordan  felt  doubtful.  He  knew  that  a  moun- 
tain which  eclipsed  the  full  moon  would  be  a  hard 


234  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

road  for  a  heavy  man  to  toil  up.  Besides,  the 
story  of  the  first  climbers  was  fresh  in  his  mind. 
But  the  boys  were  persistent,  and  they  said,  "  You 
have  talked  and  talked  about  mountains,  and  you 
have  never  done  a  single  big  thing  among  them ; 
and  it  is  time  you  did  !  "  And  so  they  kept  it  up. 
And  I  remembered  that  Tyndall  had  thought  it 
worth  his  while  to  try  again  and  again  to  go  up 
this  mountain,  and  so  had  my  Italian  namesake, 
the  geologist  Giordano.  Then  why  not  I? 

At  last  we  three  shook  hands  upon  it,  and  went 
back  to  the  hotel  to  make  arrangements.  After- 
wards three  others  joined  us,  making  six  in  all.1 
And  we  sought  out  "  John  the  Baptist,"  and  made 
him  our  chief  guide,  and  directed  him  to  provide 
food  and  ropes  for  eleven,  and  we  were  "  in  for " 
the  Matterhorn. 

Meanwhile  the  boys  wrote  letters  home,  —  letters 
full  of  descriptions  of  the  Matterhorn,  which  kept 
their  mothers  and  sisters  awake  o'  nights  for  a 
week.  And  the  sketches  of  the  mountain  with 
which  they  embellished  them  were  wonderful  to 
behold.  In  the  evening  some  of  them  strolled  out 
to  the  little  graveyard  at  Zermatt,  —  to  the  tombs 
of  Hadow,  Hudson,  and  Michel  Croz,  the  first  vic- 
tims of  the  Matterhorn,  —  "  for  inspiration,"  they 
said  ;  and  some  of  them  composed  epitaphs,  which 
they  have  not  yet  needed. 

At  one  o'clock  the  next  morning  the  porter  of 
the  Hotel  Monte  Rosa  knocked  at  our  doors,  and 

1  Professor  Charles  H.  Gilbert,  Professor  Melville  B.  Anderson, 
Mr.  William  W.  Spangler,  Mr.  William  E.  Beach,  Mr.  Walter  O. 
Williams,  and  the  writer. 


AN  ASCENT  OF   THE  MATTERHORN.        235  ' 

announced  that  breakfast  was  ready.  We  rose  in  a 
hurry,  ate  everything  on  the  table, —  our  invariable 
custom  in  Switzerland,  —  and  by  half-past  one  our 
alpenstocks  were  rattling  loudly  on  the  stone  pave- 
ments of  the  narrow  streets  of  Zermatt  Our  five 
guides  were  ready,  each  laden  with  ropes,  ice-axe, 
and  provisions,  and  we  were  on  the  road  up  the 
mountain. 

Let  me  say  a  word  about  the  guides.  Most  of 
the  able-bodied  men  in  the  Swiss  valleys  are  in  the 
summer  guides  or  porters  in  the  mountains.  The 
average  guide  is  a  rather  heavy,  slow-spoken  fellow, 
who  buys  a  good  deal  of  food  for  you  and  eats  it 
himself,  who  drinks  great  quantities  of  villanous 
sour  red  wine  at  your  expense,  hauls  you  around 
like  a  bundle  of  meal,  and  finally,  as  he  leaves 
you,  waxes  eloquent  on  the  subject  of  Trinkgeld. 
But  there  are  guides  and  guides,  and  some  of  them 
are  men  of  force  and  intelligence,  who  have,  and 
who  deserve  to  have,  a  wide  reputation.  Among 
those,  known  all  over  Europe  for  strength  and 
courage,  was  Michel  Croz  of  Chamouny,  who  fell 
from  the  Matterhorn  in  1865.  Among  those  des- 
tined to  be  thus  known  is  the  young  man  whom 
we  fortunately  selected  as  our  chief  guide,  —  Jean 
Baptiste  Aymonod  of  Val  Tournanche. 

"  John  the  Baptist,"  as  we  called  him,  is  a  very 
robust  and  muscular  young  man  of  medium  height, 
with  a  smooth  face,  light  hair,  gentle,  blue  eyes,  and 
a  firm,  expressive  mouth.  He  is  soft-voiced  and 
slow-spoken,  —  as  are  most  of  the  Swiss  guides,  — 
and  he  is  endowed  with  a  graciousness  of  manner 
and  purity  of  speech  hardly  to  be  looked  for  in  a 


236  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

herdsman's  boy,  risking  his  life  on  the  rocks  and 
ice  for  two  hundred  dollars  a  year.  His  face  shows 
the  effects  of  mountaineering,  for  his  nose  has 
sometime  been  broken  by  a  falling  stone. 

Our  next  guide,  Victor  Maquignaz,  is  older  than 
John,  and  larger,  —  a  big  burly  mountaineer,  brave 
and  trusty,  who  speaks  French  with  variations,  a 
surprising  dialect  born  of  the  mountains,  in  a  high, 
uncertain  falsetto,  like  the  voice  of  a  wheelbarrow 
that  needs  oiling.  Next  came  Frangois  Bic,  —  a  tall, 
intelligent,  positive  fellow,  a  good  mountaineer,  but 
who  would  be  better  liked  if  his  eye  were  less 
closely  fixed  on  the  Trinkgeld.  Next  came  his 
brother,  Daniel  Bic,  —  a  muscular  man  in  full  beard 
and  spectacles,  looking  like  a  German  Doktor,  who 
had  never  been  up  the  Matterhorn  before,  and 
evidently  wished  never  to  go  again.  Finally,  there 
was  Elie  Pession,  whom  we  surnamed  "the  Invalid," 
—  a  strong-looking  fellow  with  a  heavy  black  beard, 
whose  heart  sank  into  his  boots  when  he  stood  in 
the  presence  of  danger. 

All  these  guides  were  French,  and  all  belonged 
to  the  valley  of  Tournanche,  —  the  deep  valley 
which  extends  to  the  southward  from  the  Matter- 
horn  on  the  Italian  side,  corresponding  to  the  val- 
ley of  Zermatt,  which  extends  on  the  Swiss  side 
toward  the  northward. 

As  we  started  out  that  night,  it  seemed  that  we 
had  never  seen  the  world  look  so  beautiful.  The 
moon  was  full,  and  hung  gracefully  over  the  left 
shoulder  of  the  Matterhorn,  and  the  sky  was  without 
a  cloud.  Through  dark  fir-forests  we  went,  by  the 
side  of  a  foaming  torrent,  then  over  flower-carpeted 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERIJORN.        237 

pastures  and  steep  grassy  slopes,  the  great  moun- 
tain ever  in  front  and  the  glistening  snows  of  the 
Dent  Blanche  and  the  Breithorn  flanking  it  on 
either  side. 

At  sunrise  we  came  to  the  first  cabin,  at  the  foot 
of  the  upper  pyramid  of  the  Matterhorn,  on  a  nar- 
row crest  of  rocks  which  separates  the  Furggen 
glacier  from  the  Matterhorn  glacier.  This  cabin, 
built  by  the  Swiss  Alpenclub,  is  quite  a  comforta- 
ble place,  with  plenty  of  straw,  blankets,  and  fuel. 
Many  who  climb  the  mountain  spend  the  night 
here,  setting  out  at  sunrise  for  the  summit.  The 
walls  of  the  cabin  are  covered  with  lead-pencil  in- 
scriptions in  every  tongue.  One  of  these,  in  par- 
ticular, is  noteworthy  as  being  higher  above  the 
sea-level  than  any  other  poetry  in  the  English 
language. 

"  Little  Matt  Homer 

Sat  in  the  corner. 
And  vowed  he  would  not  be  climbed  : 

We  tried  it,  you  know, 

But  found  so  much  snow 
We  very  politely  declined." 

This  is  not  much  as  poetry;  but  it  is  worthy  of 
notice  that  in  a  climate  and  at  an  altitude  in 
which  ordinary  spring  poetry  is  frozen  through 
and  through  in  a  minute,  this  little  blossom  has 
survived. 

For  a  few  moments  we  watched  the  sun  rising 
over  the  glaciers  of  the  Weissthor  pass,  and  then 
John  the  Baptist  had  us  again  under  way.  We 
stood  right  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain;  but  the 
nearer  we  came  the  steeper  it  looked,  and  there 


238  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

was  no  sign  of  a  possible  path.  Precipices  of  bare, 
loose  rocks,  with  gullies  filled  with  snow  and  slip- 
pery ice,  were  before  us,  and  nothing  else.  We  went 
on  a  little  way  until  we  came  to  a  snowy  ridge,  on 
which  was  a  heap  of  large  stones.  "  This,"  said 
John  the  Baptist,  "was  the  chalet  of  Monsieur 
Whymper."  Then  the  path  began  to  grow  narrow, 
and  abysses  opened  below  us.  John  called  a  halt, 
and  said  that  we  must  now  be  very  careful ;  we 
must  watch  nothing  but  our  feet;  we  must  talk  as 
little  as  possible ;  we  must  keep  our  mouths  shut 
and  breathe  through  our  noses;  and  finally,  we 
must  chew  chocolate  or  caramels  all  the  time,  — 
for  this,  he  said,  would  keep  our  throats  from  being 
parched.  This  began  to  look  like  serious  work; 
so  we  left  off  looking  at  the  sunrise  and  the  glaciers, 
watched  our  shoes,  chewed  our  chocolate,  and 
moved  on. 

The  path  started  out  along  a  shelf  of  rock  about 
a  foot  wide,  the  surface  of  which,  in  accordance 
with  the  southward  dip  of  the  strata,  slanted  toward 
the  mountain.  Above  the  path  was  a  wall  of  rock 
some  ten  feet  high,  and  at  the  top  of  this  was  a 
similar  shelf,  but  somewhat  broader  than  the  one 
on  which  we  were  walking.  Below  us  was  a  slip- 
pery wall  of  rock,  perhaps  a  hundred  feet  high,  at 
the  foot  of  which  lay  the  ice  of  the  Furggen 
glacier.  In  summer  the  glacier  slides  away  from 
the  mountain,  the  supply  of  snow  not  being  great 
enough  to  balance  its  loss  by  melting.  Between 
the  mountain  and  the  glacier  is  therefore  a  deep 
chasm,  or  Bergschrundt  —  a  damp,  chilly,  un- 
inviting looking  place,  bordered  on  one  side  by 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        239 

rocks,  on  the  other  by  blue  ice,  from  the  edge  of 
which  often  hang  long  icicles.  We  walked  on  in 
silence  above  this  Bergschrund%  thinking  that  our 
way  would  be  easier  by-and-by,  when  suddenly 
our  path  ceased.  At  this  point  John  the  Baptist 
left  us,  and  climbing  fly-like  up  the  side  of  the 
rock,  he  showed  us  our  path  about  ten  feet  higher 
up  on  another  shelf  formed  by  a  projecting  stra- 
tum. He  threw  the  end  of  his  rope  to  the  guide 
Victor,  who  put  it  around  his  waist.  Then  John 
stood  in  the  attitude  of  the  Colossus  on  the  edge 
of  the  precipice,  and  hauled  him  up.  Next  came 
my  turn,  and  I  dangled  serenely  over  the  edge  of 
the  mountain,  while  John  and  Victor  pulled  on  the 
rope.  This  mode  of  mountain  climbing  gives  a 
view  that  you  can  get  in  no  other  way  of  the 
mountains  on  the  other  side.  And  so  one  by  one 
came  up  the  rest. 

But  our  path  did  not  improve  as  we  went  on. 
From  this  point  to  the  top,  about  six  hours'  climb, 
there  was  not  a  single  yard  of  level  walking  or, 
indeed,  of  any  walking  at  all.  One  could  not  any- 
where take  three  steps  without  watching  each  step 
and  making  a  mental  calculation  as  to  whether  his 
feet  would  hold.  There  was  hardly  a  place  where 
a  stumble  or  a  slip  of  the  foot  would  not,  except 
for  the  help  of  others,  send  the  person  who  slipped 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Every  step  was  on 
the  edge  of  a  precipice,  and  every  step  made  the 
precipice  higher,  —  though  there  is  little  real 
choice  between  falling  a  hundred  feet  and  falling  a 
mile.  The  boys  appreciated  this,  and  fell  not  at 
all.  They  clung  with  fingers  and  toes  to  every 


240  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

projecting  point,  and  nothing  short  of  an  earth- 
quake could  have  gotten  that  mountain  away  from 
them. 

I  have  called  the  Matterhorn  a  creature  of  the 
sun  and  frost.  It  is  now  but  a  wreck,  —  the  core 
of  a  far  greater  mountain  whose  rocks  have  been 
hurled  down  into  the  valleys  by  the  "  strong  gods  " 
of  the  sun  and  air,  and  have  thence  been  scattered 
over  Switzerland  and  Italy  by  the  glaciers  of  the 
Great  Ice  Age.  It  stands  in  the  altitude  of  perpet- 
ual frost,  but  bathed  by  the  warm  sunshine  of  Italy. 
On  every  clear  day  its  rock  sides  become  warm  in 
the  sun.  All  ordinary  clouds  are  below  its  summit, 
and  each  cloud  that  touches  it  in  summer  covers 
its  surface  with  light  snow.  Then  this  snow  melts 
again  in  the  sunshine,  and  causes  water  to  trickle 
in  all  the  joints  and  clefts  of  the  rocks.  Then  at 
night  the  mountain  grows  cold,  —  in  clear  nights 
intensely  cold,  — the  water  freezes  in  these  fissures, 
and  expanding  widens  them,  thus  pushing  the 
outermost  blocks  of  rock  nearer  and  nearer  the 
edge  of  the  precipice.  At  last  a  gust  of  wind  or  a 
careless  foot  may  cause  one  of  these  loose  rocks  to 
topple  over.  Down  it  falls,  loosening  many  more 
on  its  way,  the  whole  series  plunging  with  an  ever- 
increasing  roar  till  it  reaches  the  ice  of  the  Furggen 
glacier.  Into  the  glacier  the  falling  rocks  dive, 
scattering  the  ice  masses,  as  a  stone  thrown  into  a 
pond  causes  the  water  to  spatter.  Once  in  the  ice 
the  stones  move  on  more  leisurely,  until  after  years 
they  reach  the  point  where  the  glacier  melts  and 
gives  up  its  dead,  when  they  pass  into  the  universal 
rubbish-heap,  —  the  moraine,  at  the  bottom.  These 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        241 

are  t\\e  pierres  qui  roulent,  —  "  the  stones  that  roll," 
the  dread  of  the  mountaineer.  Most  high  moun- 
tains are  fashioned  by  the  glaciers  themselves  ;  but 
the  glacier  has  no  hold  on  the  Matterhorn.  Gla- 
ciers make  white  domes  of  mountains ;  frost  makes 
black  pinnacles  and  spires. 

The  guides  had  now  tied  us  together,  and  the 
value  of  the  rope  in  mountaineering  soon  became 
very  evident  to  us.  In  all  difficult  or  dangerous  ex- 
cursions in  the  high  Alps,  the  persons  making  the 
excursion  are  tied  together  by  ropes.  Usually  four 
or  five  are  joined  to  one  rope,  the  rope  being  tied 
around  the  waist  of  each.  It  is  the  duty  of  each 
one  to  see  that  the  rope  below  him  is  kept  drawn 
tight,  so  that  if  any  person  happens  to  stumble  or 
slip,  the  aid  of  the  others  will  keep  him  on  his 
feet.  In  very  difficult  excursions,  like  the  one  here 
described,  usually  but  one  person  moves  at  a  time, 
the  other  three  on  the  rope  each  holding  his  po- 
sition as  well  as  possible  until  the  fourth  one  has 
reached  a  position  of  safety. 

The  way  we  went  was  in  most  cases  like  this. 
First  John  the  Baptist  would  scramble  up  some 
ledge  of  rocks,  clinging  by  fingers  and  toes  to  pro- 
jecting points,  or  reaching  some  higher  crag  by 
means  of  his  ice-axe.  When  he  found  a  suitable 
foothold  he  would  shout  to  me,  and  I  would  crawl 
up  to  his  position,  while  the  next  man  would  edge 
up  to  where  I  was,  —  and  so  on.  When  we  came 
to  a  specially  bad  place,  a  mauvais  pas,  where  the 
rocks  were  unusually  loose  and  the  hold  precari- 
ous, I  would  shout  up  to  him  before  following 
him,  "  Etcs-vous  bien  place?"  ("Are  you  well 

16 


242  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

placed?")  If  John  was  "well  placed  "  he  would 
shout,  "  En  avance  !  "  ("  Come  on  !  ")  I  would 
then  call  out,  "Tirez!"  ("Pull!")  He  would 
then  draw  up  on  the  rope,  which  action  made  it 
much  easier  for  me  to  scramble  up  than  it  would 
have  been  without  this  assistance.  Then  it  became 
my  turn  to  help  up  the  next  man ;  but  he  usually 
crawled  up  unaided,  —  having  an  aversion  to  being 
helped,  which  I  did  not  share,  but  for  which  I  was 
duly  thankful. 

After  working  along  in  this  way  for  about  three 
hours,  John  the  Baptist  told  me  to  look  up  and  I 
would  see  the  upper  hut  and  the  ropes  which  came 
down  from  it.  High  above  us  we  could  see  a  little 
stone  shanty  under  the  shelter  of  a  huge  pinnacle  of 
rock  on  the  edge  of  a  sharp  precipice  some  fifty 
feet  high.  Down  this  precipice  hung  a  rope,  fast 
to  an  iron  staple  above,  swinging  loosely  below. 
We  had  read  in  the  guide-books  that  "  ropes  have 
been  placed  in  the  more  difficult,  places  on  the 
Matterhorn."  We  had  imagined  something  such  as 
we  had  seen  in  other  mountains, —  a  rope  railing 
alongside  of  a  steep  and  narrow  path.  We  were 
hardly  expecting  to  go  up  hand  over  hand  on  a 
rope  swinging  loosely  over  infinity. 

John  the  Baptist  started  up  on  the  rope,  resting 
his  toes  on  the  projecting  points  of  the  rocks,  where 
opportunity  offered,  until  he  reached  a  little  shelf, 
an  inch  or  two  wide,  where  he  could  stand  on  one 
foot.  It  was  growing  very  cold;  the  rope  was 
white  with  frost.  I  put  on  my  gloves  and  climbed 
up  for  a  little  distance;  but  when  I  came  to  rest 
my  full  weight  of  two  hundred  and  ten  pounds  on 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        243 

the  rope,  my  gloves  would  not  cling  to  it.  I  felt 
myself  slowly  sliding  downward.  It  was  not  a 
pleasant  sensation.  I  thought  that  I  should  prob- 
ably stop  on  reaching  the  knot  on  the  end  of  the 
rope;  but  I  might  go  too  fast,  and,  jerking  John 
the  Baptist  from  his  narrow  perch,  we  would  form 
the  nucleus  of  a  small  avalanche  moving  towards 
Zermatt.  But  I  stopped,  and  taking  off  my  gloves 
I  tried  it  again,  — this  time  with  better  success. 

At  last,  after  a  long  and  toilsome  scramble  we  all 
reached  the  upper  hut,  where  we  lay  down  on  the 
hay  fo'r  a  little  rest  and  another  round  of  tough 
bread,  sour  wine,  and  chocolate.  This  hut  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  describe  farther  on. 

As  we  went  on,  clouds  had  begun  to  gather 
about  us,  and  after  a  little  the  wind  rose  and  it 
began  to  snow.  We  lost  sight  of  the  earth  alto- 
gether, and  everything  below  us  became  a  bottom- 
less abyss.  Soon  we  came  to  the  narrow  ridge 
on  the  shoulder  of  the  Matterhorn  where  for  a 
short  distance  the  northeast  angle  of  the  mountain 
which  we  were  ascending  is  no  wider  than  the 
back  of  a  very  lean  horse.  It  is  too  narrow  for  one 
to  stand  on  or  even  to  sit  on  with  comfort.  On 
either  side  as  we  crawled  along  we  could  look 
downward  seemingly  to  the  very  bottom  of  things. 
Above  this  point  the  first  climbers  fell  from  the 
mountain.  I  asked  John  about  it,  but  he  would 
not  talk.  "  I  was  not  here  then,"  he  said. 

After  this  we  came  around  to  the  eastern  face 
again.  Here  we  could  see  the  summit,  some  five 
hundred  feet  above  us,  —  a  ragged  wall  of  rock, 
steeper  than  any  slope  we  had  yet  ascended  and  its 


244  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

top  still  seeming  to  hang  over  our  heads.  How  to. 
get  up  was  evident  from  the  long  lines  of  hanging 
ropes.  We  went  up  these  slowly,  one  after  another ; 
and  at  last  we  came  to  prefer  these  ledges  with 
their  ropes  to  the  lower  slopes,  which,  although 
less  steep,  offer  nothing  but  rocks  and  snow  to  cling 
to.  One  of  these  ropes  had  had  one  of  its  strands 
cut  by  the  sharp  edge  of  some  rock,  and  the  other 
two  strands  were  partly  untwisted.  This  rope  may 
break  for  somebody,  but  it  did  not  break  for  us. 

It  is  hard  enough  to  climb  this  part  of  the 
mountain  with  the  aid  of  the  ropes.  It  seems  next 
to  impossible  without  it;  yet  some  one  carried 
up  these  ropes  and  the  iron  staples  by  which  they 
are  hung,  and  fastened  them  all  there.  The  man 
who  did  this  was  John  the  Baptist.  At  last  the 
ropes  ceased,  and  crossing  over  to  the  north  side 
of  the  mountain,  we  found  there  an  easier  slope 
by  which  we  soon  reached  the  summit.  It  was 
now  a  little  after  noon. 

The  top  of  the  mountain  is  a  narrow  crest,  lying 
nearly  east  and  west  and  rising  toward  a  point  on 
the  Swiss  side.  This  crest  is  about  twenty  feet 
long  and  from  one  to  three  feet  wide.  Its  north 
side  is  a  rocky  slope,  while  the  south  side  is  nearly 
perpendicular,  and  at  the  time  of  our  visit  it  was 
covered  with  a  long  overhanging  snow-bank  or 
"  cornice."  It  was  as  cold  as  midwinter.  The 
north  wind  whistled  and  howled,  so  that  we  dared 
not  rise  to  our  feet,  and  the  snow  fell  thick  and 
fast.  I  should  hardly  say  that  the  snow  fell;  it 
is  made  up  there,  arid  every  cloud  which  touches 
the  mountain  is  a  snow-storm.  Most  of  the  time 


AN  ASCENT  OF   THE   MATTERHORN.         245 

we  could  see  nothing ;  the  whole  earth  was  repre- 
sented by  the  little  summit-ridge,  which  was  all 
that  we  could  see  of  the  Matterhorn.  Once  in  a 
while  a  little  eddy  in  the  clouds  on  the  south  side 
of  the  mountain  would  give  us  a  glimpse  of  Le 
Breuil  and  the  valley  of  Tournanche  two  miles 
below  us ;  and  occasionally  our  nearest  mountain 
neighbor,  the  Dent  Blanche,  disclosed  her  snow- 
crowned  head. 

We  did  not  stay  long  on  the  summit.  It  was 
not  very  warm,  and  we  wished  to  give  the  others 
a  chance.  We  wrote  our  names  on  a  card,  and- 
placed  it  in  an  empty  bottle  which  the  mountain 
keeps  as  a  register  for  visitors.  Victor  broke  off 
with  his  ice-axe  the  uppermost  point  of  the  moun- 
tain, a  piece  of  dark  green  hornblende.  I  put 
this  in  my  pocket  as  a  trophy,  and  we  were  ready 
to  descend. 

In  going  downward,  our  motion  was'  much  like 
that  of  one  of  the  caterpillars  or  "  measuring-worms  " 
which  come  upon  the  maple-trees  in  the  spring. 
The  strongest  guide  in  each  section  was  placed  last 
in  the  series,  so  as  to  be  "  well  placed,"  and  to  hold 
the  others  back  in  case  any  one  should  slip.  This 
guide  starts  first  in  each  series,  and  goes  down  to 
the  niche  of  the  next  man  below  him.  When  he  is 
again  "  well  placed,"  the  next  man  advances,  and 
in  turn  the  third  and  the  fourth,  —  the  one  stand- 
ing lowest  moving  where  it  is  possible  the  length  of 
one  section  of  the  connecting  rope,  after  which  the 
others  again  edge  downward  to  him.  The  progress 
is  of  course  very  slow,  and  three  fourths  of  the 
time  each  man  is  engaged  in  resting,  with  his- 


246  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

heels  "  well  placed  "  on  some  projecting  shelf  of 
rock. 

At  times  in  our  descent  we  felt  the  force  of 
the  tourment,  a  wind  peculiar  to  the  high  moun- 
tains, —  a  sort  of  snow-laden  whirlwind,  or  "  wind 
made  visible."  This  wind  goes  furiously  over  the 
mountain-side,  tearing  off  loose  rocks,  starting 
avalanches,  and  tossing  about  the  banks  of  snow. 
Whenever  one  of  these  struck  us,  we  lay  flat  and 
clung  to  the  rocks,  lest  we  should  be  literally  blown 
off  the  mountain.  One  of  our  company,  I  remem- 
ber, wore  a  narrow  brimmed  hat  drawn  down  tight- 
ly over  his  ears ;  the  tourment  took  it  and  whirled 
it  high  into  the  air.  The  learned  professor  fell  flat 
on  the  ground,  while  every  hair  of  his  head  caught 
the  rotary  motion  and  stood  straight  out. 

As  we  went  farther,  we  noticed  more  and  more 
the  treacherous  character  of  the  stones  on  the 
mountain  side.  The  whole  outer  coat  of  the 
mountain  is  loose,  scarcely  a  rock  anywhere  on 
the  Swiss  side  being  firmly  attached.  Into  all 
the  joints  of  the  strata  the  water  from  the  melting 
snow  finds  its  way,  and  by  the  freezing  of  this 
water  the  joints  are  widened  and  the  blocks  of 
hornblende  are  daily  pushed  nearer  and  nearer  to 
the  edge.  Thus  nothing  is  firm  ;  nothing  is  stable, 
and  each  year  the  mountain  offers  a  new  face  to 
the  weather. 

Going  down  the  mountain  is  more  difficult  than 
going  up.  This  is  not  only  on  account  of  the  men- 
tal strain  of  constantly  looking  over  precipices,  but 
because  of  the  looseness  of  the  rocks.  Stepping 
down  on  a  stone,  one  is  more  apt  to  detach  it  than 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        247 

when  he  cautiously  clings  to  it  from  below.  How- 
ever careful  we  may  be,  some  stones  will  fall ;  and 
while  this  may  not  hurt  us,  it  may  hurt  some  one 
below  us.  Then  occasionally  some  stone  would 
detach  itself  naturally,  and  go  rattling  down  to  the 
bottom  of  the  mountain,  followed  by  a  host  of 
smaller  ones,  leaving  as  they  pass  a  strong  "  smell 
of  sulphur,"  which,  as  Whymper  says,  "  tells  us 
who  sent  them." 

The  Matterhorn,  as  I  have  said,  is  one  of  the 
steepest  and  slipperiest  of  mountains,  and  every- 
where it  offers  but  scanty  hold  to  the  climber. 
There  is,  however,  in  all  this  little  real  danger  to 
men  strong  of  limb  and  steady  of  head,  accom- 
panied by  good  guides.  But  there  is  one  danger 
which  is  real,  one  which  is  almost  constantly  pres- 
ent and  against  which  no  skill  nor  strength  can 
wholly  guard,  —  and  that  is  the  danger  from  falling 
stones.  This  risk  would  be  slight  with  a  small 
party,  but  our  company  of  eleven,  probably  the 
largest  ever  on  the  Matterhorn,  made  so  long  a  line 
that  a  stone  loosened  by  the  uppermost  would  ac- 
quire a  fearful  velocity  before  reaching  the  last. 
Not  more  than  five  persons  should  be  on  the 
Matterhorn  at  once. 

The  head  of  our  column  had  reached  the  foot  of 
one  of  the  last  ropes  which  come  down  from  the 
summit,  and  was  waiting  for  the  others  to  descend. 
One  of  the  very  last  in  the  company  was  labori- 
ously crawling  over  a  large  projecting  rock,  when  it 
suddenly  became  loosened.  I  remember  hearing 
some  one  scream  "  LOOK  OUT !  "  and  then  sud- 
denly it  seemed  to  me  that  all  sunshine  and  hope 


248  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

had  gone  out  of  the  mountain.  The  great  rock  fell 
about  thirty  feet.  Striking  a  lower  shelf,  it  broke 
into  three  or  four  pieces.  One  of  these,  weighing 
about  a  hundred  pounds,  flew  over  my  head  and 
over  the  heads  of  John  and  Victor.  The  man  be- 
low us  had  turned  to  look  back  when  he  heard  the 
noise;  the  rock  struck  him  in  the  face,  knocked 
him  instantly  off  the  ledge  and  out  of  our  sight, 
and  then  plunged  down  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

We  were  all  paralyzed  for  an  instant,  —  the 
guides  as  well  as  the  rest.  I  remember  calling  to 
John  to  give  me  rope,  so  that  I  could  go  down  to 
Victor,  and  let  him  go  down  to  Gilbert.  By  the 
time  we  got  down,  Gilbert  was  struggling  to  his 
feet.  He  had  fallen  as  far  as  the  rope  would  let 
him.  His  face  and  clothes  were  covered  with  blood 
which  flowed  from  a  deep  cut  like  a  sabre  gash 
across  his  nose  and  forehead.  A  stiff-brimmed  hat- 
which  he  wore  had  been  cut  fairly  in  two,  and  its 
resistance  had  helped  to  weaken  the  force  of  the 
blow.  We  decided  that  no  bone  was  broken,  al- 
though the  wound  was  a  most  serious  one.  Once 
at  the  bottom,  we  could  take  care  of  him  perhaps ; 
but  should  he  faint,  or  be  unable  or  unwilling  to 
walk,  we  should  have  a  difficult  task  to  carry  him 
down.  We  tied  up  the  cuts  with  all  the  silk  hand- 
kerchiefs in  the  party,  covered  them  with  snow,  and 
put  over  them  all  a  thick  woollen  hood,  which  John 
the  Baptist  carried  for  use  in  time  of  need.  In  five 
minutes  we  were  moving  again.  We  were  unable 
wholly  to  stop  the  flow  of  blood,  and  our  course 
was  marked  by  a  red  trail.  Gilbert's  face  was  soon 
entirely  covered  by  a  red  clot ;  his  eyelids  swelled 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERHORN.        249 

so  that  he  could  not  see,  and  after  a  little  he  lapsed 
into  a  half-unconscious  state,  in  which  he  seemed 
to  realize  only  that  he  had  fallen  from  the  moun- 
tain, that  it  was  very  cold,  and  that  he  must  always 
walk.  And  at  times  he  would  give  up  and  lie  down 
in  the  snow,  when  we  would  use  every  argument  in 
our  power  to  induce  him  to  rise  and  go  on  again. 
It  took  us  four  hours  to  reach  the  upper  cabin,  a 
distance  perhaps  equal  to  two  "  squares  "  in  a  city 
street. 

Had  our  wounded  man  been  otherwise  than  light 
of  weight,  strong  of  limb,  and  immensely  resolute, 
we  might  not  have  gotten  down  at  all ;  and  a  night 
on  the  bare  side  of  the  mountain  meant  simply 
freezing  to  death.  It  is  hard  enough  for  a  well  man 
to  go  safely  down  the  Matterhorn,  far  harder  than 
to  go  up ;  but  for  a  man  blindf  and  faint,  it  became 
terrible.  "  C'est  un  homme  fort  et  brave  "  ("  He  is 
a  man  brave  and  strong"),  said  John  the  Baptist. 
If  Gilbert  had  been  as  heavy  as  I,  we  should  have 
had  a  task  indeed.  I  remember  thinking  at  the 
time  that  it  was  fortunate  that  I  was  n't  hit. 

At  one  time  I  saw  Gilbert  slip,  and  with  Victor, 
who  half  led,  half  carried  him,  fall  like  a  shot. 
But  John  the  Baptist  was  always  "well  placed" 
and  held  them.  At  another  time  we  heard  a  terri- 
ble uproar,  and  three  or  four  rods  away  we  saw  an 
immense  avalanche  of  stones  coming  down.  This 
was  made  of  a  dozen  large  rocks  of  the  size  of  a 
wagon,  with  hundreds  of  little  ones  yelping  in  the 
rear.  It  was  a  grand  sight;  but  we  were  little  in 
the  mood  for  it.  "  C'est  une  montagne  terrible  " 
("  It  is  a  terrible  mountain  "),  said  John  the  Baptist 


25O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

The  guide  Pession  had  been  in  a  shiver  of  mortal 
terror  ever  since  the  accident,  and  for  the  rest  of 
the  day  was  worse  than  useless.  "  You  must  par- 
don him,"  said  John  the  Baptist,  "  for  he  has  a  wife 
and  children  in  Val  Tournanche." 

At  seven  o'clock  we  reached  the  upper  hut. 
We  put  Gilbert  on  the  hay ;  after  which  he  refused 
to  move,  and  soon  went  to  sleep.  John  decided  to 
remain  there  over  night,  with  Victor,  Spangler,  and 
myself,  and  to  send  the  others  down  to  Zermatt.  Af- 
ter many  adventures,  which  I  need  not  here  relate, 
the  others  reached  the  bottom  in  safety.  Mean- 
while, we  five  arranged  for  lodgings  in  the  upper 
hut,  some  thirteen  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  — 
one  of  the  highest  "  houses  "  in  Christendom. 

This  hut  is  simply  a  pile  of  stones  more  like  the 
den  of  some  beast  than  a  cabin.  It  is  built  between 
a  pinnacle  of  rock  and  a  precipice,  its  stone  roof, 
rising  in  a  slope  from  the  edge  of  the  latter  to  the 
former.  The  height  of  the  room  within  is  perhaps 
five  feet  on  the  highest  or  upper  side.  Its  length 
is  some  ten  feet,  and  its  width  about  six.  On 
the  south  end  is  a  little  door  or  hole  for  entrance, 
and  on  the  floor  on  the  north  end  are  three  coarse 
blankets  and  a  few  armfuls  of  hay.  A  little  bench, 
a  small  table,  a  tin-pail,  and  a  basket  of  shavings 
complete  the  equipment. 

John  the  Baptist  sent  us  to  bed  at  once,  —  one 
on  each  side  of  Gilbert,  to  keep  him  warm.  But 
nobody  kept  us  warm.  Our  clothes  were  wet,  and 
my  off  side  was  against  a  frosty  rock,  which  carried 
away  heat  faster  than  I  could  generate  it.  The 
young  man  in  one  of  Grimm's  fairy-tales,  who 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MA  TTERHORN.        2$  I 

"  did  not  know  how  to  shiver,"  would  certainly 
have  found  the  coveted  experience  there.  We  did 
little  else  all  night  long.  Moreover,  the  floor  was 
very  uneven,  and  the  tin  wine-flask  which  did  duty 
as  a  pillow  was  far  from  being  "  soft  as  downy 
pillows  are."  There  was  not  much  encouragement 
for  sleeping.  All  night  long  our  patient  kept  on 
ascending  mountains,  and  recalling  his  experiences 
of  the  day.  At  about  the  first  watch  of  the  night, 
he  shouted  out,  "  Attention  !  Attention  toujours  !  " 
At  another  time  he  called  us  all  up  with  this 
remark,  "  Here  we  will  stop  walking  and  take 
wheelbarrows."  When  everything  else  was  quiet, 
the  snow  thawed  on  the  roof  and  kept  little  streams 
of  sooty  water  trickling  over  our  faces.  John  and 
Victor  lay  on  the  bare  ground ;  and  at  intervals, 
when  they  could  stand  it  no  longer,  they  would 
kindle  a  fire  of  shavings,  and  wake  us  up  to  take  a 
drink  around  of  chocolate. 

I  have  seen  cold  nights  elsewhere,  but  nothing 
to  compare  with  this.  The  storm  ceased  early  in 
the  night,  the  clouds  blew  over,  and  a  sharp,  crys- 
talline midwinter  coldness  penetrated  everywhere. 
We  could  every  few  minutes  hear  the  mountain 
snap,  as  the  water  froze  in  the  fissures  of  its  rocks. 
I  sometimes  spend  the  night  now-a-days  waiting 
for  a  belated  train  in  the  little  hotel  of  some  prairie 
"  railroad  junction  "  in  Indiana  or  Illinois,  at  the 
time  of  the  January  blizzards.  The  single  window 
in  the  little  bedroom  will  fit  loosely  in  its  place. 
One  pane  of  glass  may  be  replaced  by  an  old  hat, 
the  second  by  a  newspaper,  and  a  third  be  wanting 
altogether.  The  bed  may  have  but  one  sheet,  a 


252  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

hard  husk  mattress,  and  an  insufficient  equipment 
of  comfortless  quilts,  as  heavy  and  as  warm  as 
though  made  of  sheet-lead.  With  all  these  condi- 
tions and  worse  as  I  have  sometimes  found  them, 
I  have  now  only  to  lie  still  and  think  back  to  that 
night  on  the  Matterhorn,  and  the  whole  atmosphere 
becomes  fairly  tropical. 

In  the  morning  we  rose  early  and  went  out  to 
look  at  the  sunrise.  The  air  was  intensely  clear. 
The  whole  Matterhorn  was  white  with  new-fallen 
snow  and  glistening  with  frost.  Far  below  us  the 
clouds  hung  white  and  heavy  over  the  valley  of 
Zermatt,  their  thick  folds  hiding  all  of  the  land- 
scape which  was  not  snow-covered,  their  upper  out- 
lines seemingly  continuous  with  the  white  surface 
of  the  great  glaciers.  Far  beyond  the  valley  of 
Zermatt  rose  the  giants  of  the  Oberland.  Nearer 
to  us  were  the  Dent  Blanche,  the  Weisshorn,  the 
Rothhorn,  the  three  peaks  of  the  Mischabel,  and 
to  the  right  of  these  the  Allalin,  the  Strahlhorn, 
the  Rympfischhorn,  and  a  host  of  other  "  horns," 
named  and  unnamed,  rose  before  us.  To  the  east 
was  the  long  crescent  of  Monte  Rosa,  the  Cima  di 
Jazzi,  the  Lyskamm,  Zwillinge,  and  Breithorn,  with 
the  great  Corner  glacier  winding  about  their  feet. 
It  was  the  sight  of  a  life-time,  which  can  never  fade 
from  the  memory. 

"  With  drifts  of  snow,  fantastic  wreath  on  wreath; 
And  peak  on  peak  against  the  turquoise  blue, 
The  Alps  like  towering  campanili  stand, 
Wondrous  with  pinnacles  of  frozen  rain, 
Silvery,  crystal,  like  the  prism  in  hue. 
Oh.  tell  me,  love,  if  this  be  Switzerland, — 
Or. is  it  but  the  frostwork  on  the  pane  ?  " —  ALDRICH. 


AN  ASCENT  OF  THE  MATTERI1ORN.        253 

Our  invalid  was  better  in  the  morning,  but  cold, 
disgusted,  and  impatient.  His  swollen  eyelids  each 
looked  like  a  ripe  plum.  He  said  that  he  could 
not  open  his  eyes.  I  told  him  to  lie  still  and  keep 
them  shut  then,  —  a  remark  which  he  thought 
peculiarly  unfeeling.  We  decided  to  send  this 
Knight  of  the  Sorrowful  Figure  with  John  and  Vic- 
tor down  to  Zermatt,  while  Spangler  and  I  would 
wait  and  play  "  mumble-the-peg  "  until  their  return, 
which  might  be  next  day  and  might  be  —  never ! 
Not  a  cheerful  prospect;  but,  as  the  jester  said 
in  the  woods  of  Arden,  "  Travellers  must  be 
contented." 

Before  they  had  fairly  started,  however,  we 
heard  shouting  from  below;  and  soon  the  two 
guides  Bic  reached  us  from  the  lower  cabin,  in 
which  they  had  spent  the  night.  We  therefore 
again  moved  on,  but  very  slowly.  The  new-fallen 
snow  made  the  walking  very  difficult,  and  much 
sitting  down  in  slippery  places  reduced  our  cloth- 
ing to  a  total  wreck,  concerning  which  the  less 
said  the  better.  There  were  many  "  mauvais  pas  ;  " 
but  we  passed  them  all  at  last,  and  towards  noon 
we  reached  the  lower  cabin,  The  doctor  from 
Zermatt  was  there,  and  also  four  able-bodied  ruf- 
fians bearing  a  sedan-chair.  We  were  now  safe 
at  last;  and  after  another  drink  around  of  choco- 
late, —  there  was  nothing  else  left,  —  we  started 
for  Zermatt. 

Our  welcome  in  the  village  was  most  enthusi- 
astic. Everybody — English,  German,  French  — 
was  delighted  to  see  us,  and  the  "  Matterhorn- 
besteigcr"  were  the  heroes  of  the  hour.  In  the 


254  SCIENCE   SKETCHES. 

chapel  at  Zermatt  prayers  were  offered  for  the 
Queen  of  England  and  on  our  account  for  Pres- 
ident Garfield,  and  thanks  were  given  for  our  safe 
return. 

As  for  our  own  party,  an  Englishman  who  was 
there  afterwards  said :  "  I  never  saw  anything  like 
it.  Every  one  of  those  Americans  rushed  right 
out  into  the  street  and  crowded  around,  and  I 
actually  thought  that  every  one  of  those  ladies  was 
going  to  kiss  the  Professor  !  " 

But  not  one  of  them  did  ! 

I  afterwards  received  from  "John  the  Baptist" 
the  following  letter,  which  will  be  of  interest  as 
the  composition  of  an  illiterate  but  very  intelligent 
man.  I  give  it  literatim.  It  will  be  noticed  that 
while  the  construction  of  the  sentences  is  generally 
correct,  the  words  are  mostly  spelled  by  ear,  — 
not  an  easy  thing  to  do  in  the  French  language. 

VALTOURNENCHE,  le  16  Decbre,  1881. 
MONSIEUR  JORDAN. 

CHER  MONSIEUR, — J'ai  recus  votres  lettres  le  15  cou- 
rent,  laquelle  a  et£  pour  moi  un  grand  plaisir,  premiere- 
ment  en  aprenant  que  Me.r  Gilbert  etait  parfaitement  geri. 
Je  regretais  toujours  de  ne  pa  vous  avoir  pri£  de  me 
donner  de  ses  nouvelles  en  arivents  dans  votres  patrie. 
Je  vous  prier  de  le  saluer  bien  de  ma  part,  et  en  meme 
tempts  le  remercier  du  cadou  que  vous  m'avez  remis 
en  son  nom  a  Saas.  En  second  lieu  je  vois  avec  plaisir 
que  vous  ne  vous  etes  pas  contenter  de  me  payer  large- 
ment  mes  servisses  de  Fete  passe.  Vous  voulez  encore 
travailler  pour  me  donner  une  renomee  parmi  les  Ameri- 
cains,  s'est  plus  que  je  ne  merite.  Je  vous  en  remercie 
infiniment.  Je  regrete  beaucoup  d'etre  dans  1'impossi- 
bilite  de  pouvour  vous  en  rendre  le  reciproque.  Je  ne 


AN  ASCENT  OF   THE  MATTERHORN.         2$$ 

peut  faire  autre  chose  que  de  vous  sou£ter  des  jours 
heureux  plain  de  Santees  et  d'Amour  pour  les  Alpes 
Pennines.  .  .  .  Je  vous  prie  de  saluer  toutes  1'honorables 
compagnie  que  vous  aviez  avec  vous  l'et£  passed  Ma- 
quignaz  et  les  Bics  vous  font  ses  salutations. 

Recevez  une  bonne  poign£  de  main  de  celui  qui  vou- 
droit  etre  longtents 

Votre  serviteur, 

AYMONOD  BAPTISTS.  l 

1  The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  letter  :  — 

VAL  TOURNANCHE,  Dec.  16,  iSSi. 
MR.  JORDAN. 

DEAR  SIR, —  I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  fifth  current, 
which  has  been  for  me  a  great  pleasure,  firstly  in  learning  that  Mr. 
Gilbert  was  perfectly  cured.  I  regretted  always  not  to  have  asked 
you  to  give  me  news  from  him  in  arriving  in  your  own  country.  I 
pray  you  to  salute  him  well  for  my  part,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
thank  him  for  the  present  which  you  gave  me  in  his  name  at  Saas. 
In  the  second  place,  I  see  with  pleasure  that  you  have  not  con- 
tented yourself  with  paying  me  liberally  for  my  services  of  last 
summer.  You  wish  still  to  work  to  give  me  a  fame  among  Ameri- 
cans. It  is  more  than  I  merit.  I  thank  you  for  it  infinitely.  I 
regret  much  being  in  the  impossibility  of  being  able  to  render  you 
a  reciprocal  service.  I  can  do  nothing  more  than  to  wish  you 
happy  days  full  of  health  and  of  love  for  the  Pennine  Alps. 
...  I  pray  you  to  salute  all  the  honorable  company  which  you 
had  with  you  last  year.  Maquignaz  and  the  Bics  send  you  their 
salutations. 

Receive  a  good  shake  of  the  hand  from  him  who  would  long  be 

Your  servant, 

AYMONOD  BAPTISTE. 


256  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 


THE  STORY  OF  A  STRANGE  LAND. 

In  one  strange  land, 

And  a  long  way  from  home, 

I  heard  a  mighty  rumbling,  and  I  could  n't  tell  where. 

Negro  Melody, 

ALONG  time  ago  —  fifty  thousand  years  ago 
perhaps,  or  it  may  have  been  twice  fifty  thou- 
sand —  a  strange  thing  took  place  in  the  heart 
of  the  Great  Mountains.  It  was  in  the  middle  of 
the  Pliocene  epoch,  —  a  long,  dull  time  that  seemed 
as  if  it  would  never  come  to  an  end.  There  was 
then  on  the  east  side  of  the  Great  Divide  a  deep 
rocky  basin  surrounded  by  high  walls  of  granite 
gashed  to  the  base  by  the  wash  of  many  streams. 
In  this  basin,  we  know  not  how,  —  for  the  records 
all  are  burned  or  buried,  —  the  crust  of  the  earth 
was  broken,  and  a  great  outflow  of  melted  lava 
surged  up  from  below.  This  was  no  ordinary 
eruption,  but  a  mighty  outbreak  of  the  earth's 
imprisoned  forces.  The  steady  stream  of  lava 
filled  the  whole  mountain  basin,  and  ran  out  over 
its  sides,  covering  all  the  country  around  so  deeply 
that  it  has  never  been  seen  since.  More  than 
four  thousand  square  miles  of  land  lie  buried 
under  melted  rock.  No  one  can  tell  how  deep 
the  lava  is,  for  no  one  has  ever  seen  the  bottom. 
Within  its  bed  are  great  clefts  whose  ragged  walls 


THE  STORY  OF  A  STRANGE  LAND. 


descend  to  the  depth  of  twelve  hundred  feet,  and 
yet  give  no  glimpse  of  the  granite  below,  while  at 
their  side  are  mountains  of  lava  whose  crags  tower 
a  mile  above  the  bottom  of  the  ravines. 

At  last,  after  many  years  or  centuries,  —  time 
does  not  count  for  much  in  these  Tertiary  days,  — 
the  flow  of  melted  lava  ceased.  Its  surface  cooled, 
leaving  a  high,  uneven  plain,  black  and  desolate, 
a  hard,  cold  crust  over  a  fiery  and  smouldering 
interior.  About  the  crater  lay  great  ropes  and 
rolls  of  the  slowly  hardening  lava,  looking  like 
knots  and  tangles  of  gigantic  reptiles  of  some 
horrible  extinct  sort.  There  was  neither  grass  nor 
trees,  no  life  of  any  sort.  Nothing  could  grow  in 
the  coarse  black  stone.  The  rivers  and  brooks 
had  long  since  vanished  in  steam,  the  fishes  were 
all  dead,  and  the  birds  had  flown  away.  The 
whole  region  wore  the  desolation  of  death. 

But  to  let  land  go  to  waste  is  no  part  of  Mother 
Nature's  plan.  So  even  this  far-off  corner  of  her 
domain  was  made  ready  for  settlement.  In  the 
winter  she  sifted  snow  on  the  cold  black  plain,  and 
in  the  summer  the  snow  melted  into  a  multitude 
of  brooks  and  springs.  The  brooks  gradually 
wore  paths  and  furrows  down  the  lava  bed,  and 
the  sands  which  they  washed  from  one  place  they 
piled  up  in  another.  The  winds  blew  the  seeds  of 
grasses  about,  and  willows  and  aspens  crept  up 
the  mountain-sides.  Then  came  the  squirrels, 
scattering  the  nuts  of  the  pine.  Other  seeds  came, 
too,  in  other  ways,  till  at  last  the  barren  hillside 
was  no  longer  barren. 

The  brooks  ran  over  the  surface   of  the  crust 


258  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

undisturbed  by  the  fires  within,  and  were  clear 
and  cold  as  mountain  brooks  should  be;  but  the 
rain  and  melted  snow  will  never  all  remain  on  the 
surface.  Some  of  it  falls  into  cracks  or  joints  or 
porous  places  in  the  rock,  and  from  this  come 
underground  streams  or  springs.  But  in  this 
region  a  stream  could  not  run  long  underground 
without  coming  in  contact  with  the  old  still-burning 
fires.  When  a  crust  is  formed  over  the  lava,  it 
cools  very  slowly.  When  the  crust  is  a  rod  or 
two  deep,  the  lava  within  is  almost  as  well  pro- 
tected as  if  it  were  at  the  centre  of  the  earth. 

Whenever  the  water  came  down  into  the  fire, 
the  hot  rocks  would  be  furious  with  indignation, 
and  tearing  the  water  to  atoms  they  would  throw 
it  back  to  the  surface  as  steam.  Then  the  ex- 
plosive force  of  the  steam  would  in  turn  tear  up 
the  rocks,  making  still  larger  the  hole  through 
which  the  water  came.  When  the  rocks  were 
very  hot,  a  little  water  upon  them  would  make  a 
terrible  commotion  like  the  shock  of  an  earth- 
quake. When  much  water  came  down,  it  would 
hiss  and  boil  high  in  the  air,  as  it  tried  to  break 
the  cushion  of  steam  which  came  between  it  and 
the  lava. 

And  all  this  went  on  in  hundreds  of  places  and 
maybe  for  thousands  of  years.  The  hot  rocks 
glowed  and  sweltered  in  the  ground,  and  the  cold 
snow-water  crept  after  them  closer  and  closer, 
while  more  and  more  vigorously  the  rocks  re- 
sented the  intrusion.  Sometimes  the  water  would 
go  down  in  a  mass  through  a  cleft,  when  it  would 
be  hurled  back  bodily  the  very  way  it  came.  At 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STRANGE  LAND.          2$$ 

other  times  the  water  came  down  little  by  little, 
insinuating  itself  into  many  places  at  once.  Then 
the  hot  rocks  threw  it  back  in  many  little  honey- 
comb channels,  and  by  the  spreading  of  these 
channels  the  rocks  were  at  last  crumbled  to  pieces. 
The  hard  black  lava  or  the  glass-like  obsidian  were 
changed  to  white  kaolin  as  soft  and  powdery  as 
chalk.  And  as  the  water  fought  its  way,  gaining 
a  little  every  year,  steadily  working  between  the 
joints  in  the  enemy's  armor  and  as  surely  being 
thrown  back  with  violence  if  it  penetrated  too  far, 
the  animals  and  the  plants  followed  in  the  wake  of 
the  water,  and  took  possession  of  the  territory  as 
fast  as  it  was  won. 

At  last  the  Pliocene  times   were    over,  for   all 
times  come  to  an  end.     The  one  sure  thins  on  the 

o 

earth  is  the  certainty  of  change.  With  the  change 
of  time  came  on  the  earth's  great  winter.  The 
snow-drifts  on  the  lava  were  piled  up  mountain- 
high.  Snow  is  but  ice  in  little  fragments  which 
will  grow  solid  under  pressure.  As  the  snow 
accumulated  it  began  to  move,  forming  great 
rivers  of  ice  which  ran  down  the  courses  of  the 
streams.  And  as  these  slowly  moving,  gigantic 
ice-rivers  tore  away  huge  blocks  of  lava  and  pushed 
them  down  the  mountain-sides,  where  the  rocks 
had  been  softened  by  the  action  of  steam,  the  ice 
wore  out  deep  valleys,  and  everything  that  it 
touched  was  smoothed  and  polished.  The  winter 
of  the  great  Ice  age  lasted  a  very  long  time,  many 
thousands  of  years ;  but,  long  as  it  was  and  long 
ago,  it  came  at  last  to  an  end,  —  not  to  a  full  stop, 
of  course,  for  even  now  some  of  its  snow  still 


260  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

lingers  on  the  highest  peaks  that  surround  the 
lava-beds. 

Then  the  winters  grew  shorter  and  the  summers 
longer.  The  south  winds  blew,  and  the  ice  melted 
away,  first  from  the  plain  and  then  from  the  moun- 
tains. The  water  ran  down  the  sides  of  the  lava-bed, 
cutting  deep  gorges  or  canons,  so  deep  that  the  sun 
can  hardly  see  the  bottom.  And  into  the  joints 
and  clefts  of  the  rocks  more  and  more  water  went, 
to  be  hurled  back  with  greater  and  greater  violence, 
for  all  the  waters  of  all  the  snow  cannot  put  out 
a  mile  deep  of  fire. 

In  the  old  depressions  where  the  ice  had  chiselled 
away  the  softer  rocks,  there  were  formed  lakes  of 
the  standing  water,  and  one  of  these  was  more 
than  thirty  miles  long,  winding  in  and  out  among 
the  mountain-ridges.  In  the  lake  bottom  the  water 
soaked  through  down  to  the  hot  lava  below,  from 
which  it  was  thrown  boiling  back  to  the  surface 
again,  fountains  of  scalding  water  in  the  icy  lake. 

The  cold  Ice  age  had  killed  all  the  plants  in  the 
region ;  it  had  driven  off  the  animals  that  could 
be  driven,  and  had  then  buried  the  rest.  But 
when  the  snow  was  gone  the  creatures  all  came 
back  again.  Grass  and  meadow-flowers  of  a 
hundred  kinds  came  up  from  the  valleys  below. 
The  willow  and  the  aspen  took  their  place  again 
by  the  brookside,  and  the  red  fir  and  the  mountain 
pine  covered  the  hills  with  their  sombre  green. 
The  birds  came  back.  The  wild  goose  swam  and 
screamed,  and  the  winter  wren  carolled  his  bright 
song,  —  loudest  when  there  seemed  least  cause  for 
rejoicing.  The  beaver  cut  his  timber  and  patiently 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STRANGE  LAND.          26 1 

worked  at  his  dams.  The  thriftless  porcupine  de- 
stroyed a  tree  for  every  morning  meal.  The  gray 
jay,  the  "  camp-robber,"  followed  the  Indians  about 
in  hope  that  some  forgotten  piece  of  meat  or  of 
boiled  root  might  fall  to  his  share ;  while  the  buf- 
falo, the  bear,  and  the  elk  each  carried  on  his 
affairs  in  his  own  way,  as  did  a  host  of  lesser 
animals,  all  of  whom  rejoiced  when  this  snow- 
bound region  was  at  last  opened  for  settlement. 
Time  went  on.  The  water  and  the  fire  were  every 
day  in  mortal  struggle,  and  always,  when  the  water 
was  thrown  back  repulsed,  it  renewed  the  contest 
as  vigorously  as  before.  The  fire  retreated,  leaving 
great  stretches  of  land  to  its  enemy,  that  it  might 
concentrate  its  strength  where  its  strength  was 
greatest.  And  the  water  steadily  gained,  for  the 
great  ocean  ever  lay  behind  it.  So  for  century 
after  century  they  wrestled  with  each  other, — 
the  water,  the  fire,  the  snow,  the  animals,  and 
the  plants.  But  the  fishes  that  had  once  lived 
in  the  mountain  torrents  were  no  longer  there. 
They  had  been  boiled  and  frozen,  and  in  one  way 
or  another  destroyed  or  driven  away.  Now  they 
could  not  get  back.  Every  stream  had  its  canon, 
and  in  each  canon  was  a  waterfall  so  high  that  no 
trout  could  leap  up.  Although  they  used  to  try  it 
every  day,  not  one  ever  succeeded. 

So  it  went  on.  A  great  many  things  happened 
in  other  parts  of  the  world.  America  had  been 
discovered,  and  the  colonies  were  feeling  their  way 
toward  the  Pacific  Ocean.  And  in  the  vanguard 
was  the  famous  expedition  of  Lewis  and  Clark, 
which  went  overland  to  the  mouth  of  the  river 


262  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Columbia.  John  Colter  was  a  hunter  in  this  ex- 
pedition. By  some  chance  he  went  across  the 
mountains  on  the  old  trail  of  the  Nez  Perces 
Indians,  which  leads  across  the  Divide  from  the 
Missouri  waters  to  those  of  the  Columbia.  When 
he  came  back  from  the  Nez  Perces  trail,  he  told 
most  wonderful  tales  of  what  he  had  seen  at  the 
head  of  the  Missouri.  There  were  cataracts  of 
scalding  water  which  shot  straight  up  into  the  air ; 
there  were  blue  ponds  hot  enough  to  boil  fish; 
there  were  springs  that  came  up  snorting  and 
steaming,  and  which  would  turn  trees  into  stone; 
the  woods  were  full  of  holes  from  which  issued 
streams  of  sulphur;  there  were  canons  of  untold 
depth,  with  walls  of  ashes  full  of  holes  which  let  off 
steam  like  a  locomotive,  and  there  were  springs 
which  looked  peaceful  enough,  but  which  at  times 
would  burst  like  a  bomb. 

Every  one  laughed  at  Colter  and  his  yarns,  and 
this  place  where  all  lies  were  true  was  familiarly 
known  as  "  Colter's  Hell."  But  for  once  John 
Colter  told  the  truth,  and  the  truth  could  not 
easily  be  exaggerated.  But  no  one  believed  him. 
When  others  who  afterward  followed  him  over  the 
Nez  Perces  trail  told  the  same  stories,  people  said 
they  had  been  up  to  "  Colter's  Hell  "  and  had 
learned  to  lie. 

But,  as  time  passed,  other  men  told  what  they 
had  seen,  until,  in  1^70),  a  sort  of  official  survey 
was  made  under  the  lead  of  Washburne  and  Doane. 
This  party  got  the  general  bearings  of  the  region, 
named  many  of  the  mountains,  and  found  so  much 
of  interest  that  the  next  year  Dr.  Hayden,  the 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STRANGE  LAND.          263 

United  States  Geologist,  sent  out  a  party  for  syste- 
matic exploration.  The  Hayden  party  came  up 
from  Colorado  on  horseback,  through  dense  and 
tangled  forests,  across  mountain  torrents,  and  over 
craggy  peaks.  The  story  of  this  expedition  has 
been  most  charmingly  told  by  its  youngest  mem- 
ber, another  John  Coulter.  Professor  Coulter  was 
the  botanist  of  the  survey,  and  he  won  the  first  of 
his  manyjaurels  on  this  expedition.  In  1872,  acting 
on  Hayden's  report,  Congress  took  the  matter  in 
hand,  and  set  apart  this  whole  region  as  a  "  public 
park  or  pleasuring  ground  for  the  benefit  and  en- 
joyment of  the  people,"  and  such  it  remains  to 
this  day. 

But  while  only  of  late  this  region  has  had  a 
public  history,  the  long-forgotten  years  between 
the  Glacial  period  and  the  expedition  of  Lewis 
and  Clark  were  not  without  interest  in  the  history 
of  the  trout.  For  all  these  years  the  fishes  have 
been  trying  to  mount  the  waterfalls  in  order  to 
ascend  to  the  plateau  above.  Year  after  year,  as 
the  spawningrtime  came  on,  they  leaped  against 
the  falls  of  the  Gardiner,  the  Gibbon,  and  the  Fire- 
hole  Rivers,  but  only  to  fall  back  impotent  in  the 
pools  at  their  bases.  But  the  mightiest  cataract  of 
all,  the  great  falls  of  the  Yellowstone,  they  finally 
conquered  ;  and  in  this  way  it  was  done,  —  not  by 
the  trout  of  the  Yellowstone  River,  but  by  their 
brothers  on  the  other  side  of  the  Divide.  These 
followed  up  the  Columbia  to  the  headwaters  of  the 
Snake  River,  its  great  tributary,  past  the  beautiful 
Heart  Lake,  and  then  on  to  the  stream  now  called 
Pacific  Creek,  which  rises  on  the  very  crest  of  the 


264  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

Divide.  In  the  space  l  between  this  stream,  which 
flows  west  to  help  form  the  Snake  River,  and  a 
smaller  stream  now  called  Atlantic  Creek,  flowing 
down  the  east  slope  of  the  Divide,  the  great  chain 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  shrinks  to  a  narrow  pla- 
teau of  damp  meadow,  not  a  fourth  of  a  mile  in 
width ;  and  some  years,  when  the  snows  are  heavy 
and  melt  late  in  the  spring,  this  whole  region  is 
covered  with  standing  water.  The  trout  had  bided 
their  time  until  they  found  this  pass,  and  now  they 
were  ready  for  action.  Before  the  water  was 
drained  they  had  crossed  the  Divide  and  were  de- 
scending on  the  Atlantic  side  toward  the  Yellow- 
stone Lake.  As  the  days  went  by,  this  colony  of 
bold  trout  spirits  grew  and  multiplied  and  filled 
the  waters  of  the  great  clear  lake,  where  their  de- 
scendants remain  to  this  day.  And  no  other  fishes 
—  not  the  chub,  nor  the  sucker,  nor  the  white-fish; 
nor  the  minnow,  nor  the  blob  —  had  ever  climbed 
Pacific  Creek.  None  of  them  were  able  to  follow 
where  the  trout  had  gone,  and  none  of  them  have 
ever  been  seen  in  the  Yellowstone  Lake.  What 
the  trout  had  done  in  this  lake  —  their  victories 
and  defeats,  their  struggles  with  the  bears  and 
pelicans,  and  with  the  terrible  worm,  joint  enemy 
of  trout  and  pelicans  alike  —  must  be  left  for 
another  story. 

So  the  trout  climbed  the  Yellowstone  Falls  by 
way  of  the  back  staircase.  Having  once  reached 
its  top,  it  was  easy  to  go  down  it  on  the  other  side. 
And  in  a  similar  way,  by  stealing  over  from  Black- 

1  For  a  detailed  account  of  "  Two-Ocean  Pass,"  see  Evermann, 
Popular  Science  Monthly,  June,  1894. 


THE  STORY  OF  A   STXANGE  LAND.          26$ 

tail  Deer  Creek,  they  overcame  the  Undine  Falls  in 
Lava  Creek  and  passed  its  steep  obsidian  walls, 
which  not  all  the  fishes  in  the  world  could  climb. 

In  the  Gibbon  River  the  cataracts  have  proved 
to  the  trout  an  impassable  barrier;  but,  strangely 
enough,  its  despised  associate,  the  sluggish,  chunky 
blob,  a  little  soft-bodied,  smooth,  black,  tadpole- 
like  fellow,  with  twinkling  eyes  and  a  voracious 
appetite,  —  a  fish  who  cannot  leap  at  all,  —  has 
crossed  this  barrier.  Hundreds  of  blob  live  under 
the  stones  in  the  upper  reaches  of  the  stream,  the 
only  fish  in  the  Gibbon  waters.  There  he  is,  and 
it  is  a  standing  puzzle  even  to  himself  to  know  how 
he  got  there.  We  might  imagine,  perhaps,  that 
some  far-off  ancestor,  some  ancient  Queen  of  the 
Blobs,  was  seized  by  an  osprey  and  carried  away 
in  the  air.  Perhaps  an  eagle  was  watching  and 
forced  the  osprey  to  give  up  its  prey.  Perhaps  in 
the  struggle  the  blob  escaped,  falling  into  the  river 
above  the  falls,  to  form  the  beginning  of  the  future 
colony.  At  any  rate,  there  is  the  great  impassable 
waterfall,  the  blob  above  it  and  below.  The  os- 
prey has  its  nest  on  a  broken  pine-tree  above  the 
cataract,  and  its  tyrant  master,  the  bald  eagle, 
watches  it  from  some  still  higher  crag  whenever  it 
goes  fishing. 

It  came  to  pass  at  last  that  Marshall  McDonald, 
whose  duty  as  United  States  Fish  Commissioner  it 
was  to  look  after  the  fishes  wherever  they  may  be, 
sent  me  to  this  country  to  see  what  could  be  done 
for  his  wards.  It  was  a  proud  day  when  I  set  out 
from  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  astride  a  black  cayuse, 
or  Indian  pony,  which  answered  to  the  name  of 


266  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

"  Jump,"  followed  by  a  long  train  of  sixteen  other 
cayuses  of  every  variety  of  color  and  character, 
the  most  notable  of  all  being  a  white  pony  called 
"  Tinker."  At  some  remote  and  unidentified  period 
of  her  life  she  had  bucked  and  killed  a  tradesman 
who  bestrode  her  against  her  will,  and  thereby,  as 
in  the  old  Norse  legends,  she  had  inherited  his 
strength,  his  wickedness,  and  his  name.  And  when, 
after  many  adventures,  I  came  back  from  this 
strange  land  and  told  the  story  of  its  fishes,  other 
men  were  sent  out  from  Washington  with  nets  and 
buckets.  They  gathered  up  the  trout  and  carried 
them  to  the  rivers  above  the  falls ;  and  now  all  the 
brooks  and  pools  of  the  old  lava-bed,  the  fairest 
streams  in  the  world,  are  full  of  their  natural 
inhabitants. 

And  so  to-day  in  the  Gardiner,  the  Gibbon,  the 
Nez  Perce,  and  especially  in  Firehole  River,  and 
in  the  dark  green  depths  of  Shoshone  Lake, 
one  can  find  angling  such  as  Izaak  Walton  never 
dreamed  of.  And  it  is  now,  more  than  ever  before, 
"  good  luck  for  any  man  to  be  on  the  good  side  of 
the  man  that  knows  fish." 


HOW  THE   TROUT  CAME    TO   CALIFORNIA.       267 


HOW    THE    TROUT    CAME    TO 
CALIFORNIA. 


ultimate  result  of  centuries  on  centuries 
of  the  restlessness  of  individuals  is  seen  in 
the  facts  of  geographical  distribution.  Only  in  the 
most  general  way  can  the  history  of  any  species 
be  traced  ;  but  could  we  know  it  all,  it  would  be 
as  long  and  as  eventful  a  story  as  the  history  of 
the  colonization  and  settlement  of  North  America 
by  immigrants  from  Europe.  By  the  fishes  each 
river  in  America  has  been  a  hundrecT~times  dis- 
covered, its  colonization  a  hundred  times  at- 
tempted. In  these  efforts  there  is  no  co-operation. 
Every  individual  is  for  himself.  Every  struggle  is 
a  strugjrie^of  Jjfe  and  death.  Each  fish  is  a  canni- 
bal, and  to  each  species  each  member  of  every 
other  species  is  an  alien  and  a  savage." 

In  the  light  of  this  statement  which  I  had  occa- 
sion to  make  about  ten  years  ago,  we  may  try 
to  find  out  how  the  trout  *  came  to  California. 

1  I  here  use  the  word  "  trout,"  as  it  is  used  in  England,  for  the 
black-spotted  fishes  of  the  genus  Salmo  which  retain  the  teeth  on 
the  shaft  of  the  vomer,  and  which  inhabit  the  streams  and  lakes 
of  regions  where  water  is  cold  and  clear.  I  distinguish  the  trout 
from  the  marine  and  anadromous  salmon,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
from  the  fine-scaled  red-spotted  charr  (Salvelinus)  on  the  other. 
If  our  Pilgrim  Fathers  had  sailed  from  Cumberland  or  West- 
moreland instead  of  from  Devonshire,  they  would  never  have 


268  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

The  trout  is  in  California  now.  It  is  everywhere 
in  California.  There  is  no  brook  so  poor  that  a 
trout  cannot  somewhere  or  sometime  find  a  place 
in  it.  Even  the  driest  "  Arroyo  Seco  "  has  at  its 
head  somewhere  a  living  spring,  and  here  the 
trout  remains  until  the  winter  rains  release  him. 
Moreover  the  trout  was  not  always  in  California. 
At  some  time  or  other  he  came  to  California  from 
the  far  Northwest.  All  this  we  know  very  well. 
We  know  it  as  well  as  we  know  that  the  sonorous 
Spanish  names  came  to  California  from  the  South, 
or  that  Saxon  enterprise  came  over  the  plains, 
across  the  Isthmus,  and  around  the  Horn. 

The  records  of  the  trout  are  less  perfect  than 
the  stories  of  the  Argonauts  or  the  annals  of  the 
Mission  Fathers.  But  some  records  there  are,  and 
whatever  these  records  tell  is  true  as  far  as  it  goes. 
Let  us  piece  these  records  out,  joining  their  facts 
by  lines  of  least  resistance.  Let  us  frame  a  history 
of  what  may  have  been  true,  and  it  will  remain 
true  until  some  one  can  read  the  records  better. 

The  trout  was  born  in  Europe  on  the  flanks  of 
the  glacial  mountains.  The  salmon  was  its  parent. 
The  environment  of  landlocked  lakes  and  glacial 
streams  determined  its  character.  From  northern 
fjords  and  mossy  brooks  it  spread  over  Siberia. 

called  the  beautiful  red-spotted  charr  of  our  New  England  streams  a 
"  trout."  They  had  never  seen  a  charr  in  the  South  of  England,  and 
had  probably  never  even  heard  the  name.  Trout  and  salmon  they 
knew  well,  and  gave  their  names  to  the  fishes  of  the  New  World 
that  seemed  most  like  them.  There  is  no  genuine  trout  in 
America  east  of  the  Great  Plains.  The  Eastern  Brook  Trout 
or  Speckled  Trout  is  a  Charr.  No  higher  praise  can  be  given  to 
a  Salmonoid  than  to  call  it  a  Charr. 


HOW  THE   TROUT  CAME    TO   CALIFORNIA.       269 

No  one  can  tell  the  story  of  its  migrations  from 
one  great  dreary  river  to  another  in  this  vast 
region,  for  no  one  knows  what  it  does  there  to- 
day. We  know  that  Siberia  is  a  land  of  trout; 
but  the  names  of  the  kinds  of  trout  in  Siberia  are 
bare  names  to-day,  as  they  were  in  the  days  of 
Steller  and  Pallas  and  Krascheninnikow.  From 
Kamchatka  to  Alaska  across  the  cold  Bering 
Sea  is  but  a  step  for  a  fish  of  spirit,  and  this  step 
is  often  made  by  the  trout  to  this  day.  In  the 
Kamchatka  rivers  the  trout  has  changed  some- 
what from  any  of  the  varied  forms  that  are  known 
in  Europe.  Its  scales  are  smaller  (180  instead  of 
130  in  a  line  along  its  sides),  and  across  its  throat, 
half  hidden  by  the  branches  of  its  lower  jaw,  is 
the  A- shaped  blotch  of  scarlet.  Such  a  mark 
is  known  in  the  North  as  the  sign-manual  of  the 
Sioux  Indian.  It  is  the  mark  of  the  Cut-throat 
Trout.  This  Trout  freely  enters  the  sea  in  Alaska 
to-day,  and  has  done  so  ever  since  it  came  to  that 
region.  Thus  it  passes  readily  from  one  stream 
to  another;  one  colony  mixing  freely  with  an- 
other, till  from  end  to  end  of  the  territory  the 
trout  are  virtually  alike.  In  the  brooks  the 
trout  grow  slowly  and  in  the  sea  rapidly,  but 
the  streams  are  clear  and  the  sea  is  cold.  If  food 
is  scarce  in  the  rivers,  there  is  a  clear  passage 
from  them  to  the  ocean,  with  no  alkaline  basin  or 
mud-flat  to  be  crossed.  For  these  reasons  the 
trout  of  Alaska  and  Kamchatka  have  remained 
uniform  in  appearance.  They  are  all  alike  Cut- 
throat Trout.  A  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
the  Russians  in  Kamchatka  called  them  Mykiss. 


2/O  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

From  this,  in  1792,  the  old  German  compiler 
Johann  Julius  Walbaum  gave  them  their  scientific 
name  of  Salmo  mykiss,  and  to  this  day  and  for- 
ever Salmo  mykiss 1  is  the  scientific  name  of  the 
Cut-throat  Trout. 

Finding  Alaska  a  good  "  fishing-ground,"  the 
trout  spread  itself  through  all  its  rivers.  The 
conditions  of  cold  clear  water  from  the  mountains 
to  the  sea  are  much  the  same  all  the  way  from 
the  Yukon  to  Fraser's  River  and  the  Columbia  and 
even  as  far  south  as  the  Umpqua  and  the  Klamath. 
To  all  these,  one  after  another,  the  Cut-throat 
Trout  came  from  the  North.  The  ocean  offering 
easy  access  from  the  mouth  of  one  to  the  mouth 
of  another,  there  is  very  little  difference  to  this 
day  among  the  colonies  inhabiting  the  different 
river  basins.  The  Mad  River  and  Elk  River  in 
Humboldt  County,  California,  mark  the  southern- 
limit  of  the  extension  of  the  Cut-throat  Trout 
along  the  west  coast  by  processes  of  ordinary 
transfer  from  river  to  river  by  way  of  the  sea. 

Ascending     the    Columbia    River,2    the    trout 

1  By  the  laws  of  scientific  nomenclature,  the  oldest  name  of  any 
species  is  its  right  name,  all  questions  of  which  name  is  the  best 
or    sounds   the   best   being  disregarded.     The   Cut-throat   Trout 
was   called  Salmo  mykiss  in    Kamchatka   by  Walbaum  in  1792, 
Salmo  muikisi  by  Schneider  in  1801,  Salmo furpurattis  by  Pallas 
in  1811 ;  these  specimens  being  all  of  the  Mykiss  of  Kamchatka. 
It  was  named  Salmo  clarkii  by  Richardson  in  1836,  from  Columbia 
River  specimens.     A  number  of  other  names,  as  Salmo  stellatus, 
brevicauda,  and  aurora,  were  applied  by  Dr.  Charles  Girard   to 
specimens  brought  in  by  the  Pacific   Railroad  Survey. 

2  The  Cut-throat  Trout  of  the  Lower  Columbia  and  of  Puget 
Sound  cannot  be  distinguished  from  that  found  in  Alaska.     It  is, 
however,  sometimes  given  a  separate  name  in  science,  as  Salmo 
mykiss  clarkii. 


HOW  THE  TROUT  CAME   TO  CALIFORNIA. 


spread  itself  widely  in  the  streams  of  the  green 
and  moist  region  west  of  the  Cascade  Range  and 
through  the  arid  lava-strewn  wildernesses  which  lie 
to  the  east.  Each  stream  received  its  quota  of 
trout  ;  but  as  the  way  was  open  up  and  down  the 
stream,  the  species  remained  essentially  as  it  was 
in  Alaska.  Isolation  or  separation  from  the  main 
body  in  some  way  is  a  prime  factor  in  the  perma- 
nence of  new  forms.  In  Waha  Lake1  in  Wash- 
ington, a  glacial  lake  which  has  now  no  outlet,  the 
trout  became  entirely  cut  off  from  the  parent  stock, 
and  a  local  race  with  shorter  head  and  the  black 
spots  gathered  on  the  tail  was  formed  by  the 
separation.  In  the  central  portion  of  this  region, 
east  of  the  Cascade  Range,  we  find  still  the  an- 
cestral forms  of  the  nascent  species  which  have 
sprung  from  Salmo  mykiss.  In  this  region  the 
scales  are  small,  but  the  cut-throat  mark  is  often 
wanting,  and  there  are  still  living  forms  that  seem 
to  mark  a  perfect  transition  2  from  Salmo  mykiss 
to  Salmo  gairdneri.  In  the  region  where  these 
forms  are  found,  the  true  mykiss  is  nearly  or  quite 
wanting. 

The  trout  thus  came  to  the  fountain-head  of 
the  Columbia,  and  its  great  tributaries  the  Snake, 
the  Salmon,  and  Clark's  Fork.  In  this  Upper 
Snake  River  it  has  become  separated,  since  the 
last  lava  flows,  'from  the  parent  form,  and  it  is 

1  The  Waha   Lake   Trout  has  received  the  name   of  Salmo 
mykiss  bouvieri.     This  name  was  given  by  Major  Charles  Bendire, 
its  discoverer,  one  good  soldier  naming  it  for  another. 

2  These  transitional  forms,  abundant  about  Walla  Walla  and 
in  the  Des  Chutes  River,  are  known  as  Salmo  mykiss  gibbsii,  named 
for  the  discoverer,  George  Gibbs,  once  governor  of  Washington. 


2/2  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

called  Salmo  mykiss  leivisi.  How  the  lewisi 
crossed  the  Great  Divide  over  to  the  headwaters 
of  the  Missouri  and  spread  itself  where  it  could 
in  the  Yellowstone  Park,  I  have  already  twice 
told  in  my  way.  Dr.  Barton  W.  E^ermann  of 
the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission  has  told  it  in  a  still 
better  way,  for  he  has  himself  visited  the  Two 
Ocean  Pass  and  caught  it  in  the  very  act  of 
crossing  the  Divide.  Just  south  of  the  Yellow- 
stone Park  is  a  great  depression  in  the  main 
divide  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  chain  which  is  re- 
duced to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  low  marshy 
ground.  East  of  this  marsh  the  Atlantic  Creek 
flows  eastward  into  the  Yellowstone.  West  of  it, 
Pacific  Creek  finds  its  way  into  Snake  River. 
Across  the  marsh  the  streams  become  entangled, 
and  each  one  sends  a  part  of  its  water  over  into 
the  other.  In  the  spring  the  marsh  is  largely 
under  water,  and  there  is  no  obstacle  to  the  pas- 
sage of  the  trout.  For  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  one  stream  at  least  is  open,  and  the  trout 
can  pass  without  hindrance  from  the  Snake  River 
to  the  Yellowstone,  from  the  basin  of  the  Colum- 
bia to  that  of  the  Missouri.1  Thus  the  trout 
came  over  into  Yellowstone  Lake  and  into  the 
Yellowstone  River,  thence  into  the  Missouri  and 
its  great  clear  affluents,  the  Jefferson,  Madison, 

1  The  Trout  of  the  Upper  Missouri  (and  Upper  Columbia)  has 
been  called  Salmo  lewisi  by  Girard  and  Salmo  carinatus  by  Cope. 
It  uoes  not  differ  in  any  visible  way  from  Salmo  mykiss^  although 
it  is  now  isolated  from  the  latter,  its  parent  stock.  Trout  con- 
fined to  rivers  are  always  smaller  than  those  of  the  same  kind 
resident  in  lakes.  Those  which  enter  the  sea  grow  to  a  still 
larger  size. 


HOW  THE   TROUT  CAME    TO   CALIFORNIA.       2/3 

and  Gallatin,  and  throughout  the  Missouri  basin 
as  far  to  the  east  as  a  decent  fish  can  live.  But 
these  trout  of  the  Upper  Columbia  are  now 
separated  by  the  great  falls  of  Shoshone  from 
those  of  the  rest  of  the  stream.  They  have  re- 
tained their  primitive  characters. 

The  wash  of  the  Bad  Lands  in  Dakota  fills  the 
clear  river  with  fine  clay  and  quicksands,  and  in 
yellow  water  over  quicksand  bottom  one  does  not 
look  for  trout.  The  Black  Hills  of  South  Dakota 
are  full  of  clear  streams,  but  there  are  no  trout 
in  them.  The  bad  water  of  the  main  river  into 
which  these  streams  flow  shuts  off  the  trout  from 
them.  The  fact  that  the  trout  are  shut  out  shows 
that  conditions  have  not  materially  changed  since 
the  trout  came  into  the  Missouri.  The  cataracts 
which  fall  from  the  lava  beds  in  the  Yellowstone 
Park  have  also  excluded  trout  from  a  great 
number  of  beautiful  streams,  as  the  Gardiner,  Gib- 
bon, and  Firehole  Rivers,  and  the  charming  ex- 
panse of  Shoshone l  and  Lewis  Lakes.  This 
shows  that  these  waterfalls  were  formed  before 
the  trout  crossed  the  Divide. 

From  the  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  or  the  Snake, 
the  trout  crossed  in  some  way  as  yet  unknown  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Platte,  and  filled  all  the  brooklets 
of  the  Colorado  Parks.  From  these  it  again  over- 
flowed into  the  neighboring  waters  of  the  Upper 
Arkansas.  The  fact  that  through  all  these  streams 
of  Eastern  Colorado  and  Wyoming  the  trout  are 

1  In  these  streams  are  now  trout  in  abundance,  various 
species  having  been  introduced  by  the  U.  S.  Fish  Commission 
in  1888. 

18 


2/4  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

substantially  alike  indicates  that  the  date  of  crossing 
from  one  to  the  other,  say  from  Denver  to  Pueblo, 
is  comparatively  recent.  The  runway  is  not  how- 
ever yet  made  out,  but  it  probably  lies  between 
Pike's  Peak  and  Denver,  and  may  have  been  due 
to  some  glacial  overflow  from  the  South  Platte 
into  the  creek  called  Font-qui-Bouille.  The  pas- 
sage from  the  Missouri  to  the  Platte  is  older,  for 
here  the  trout  have  become  perceptibly  changed. 
The  trout  of  the  Platte1  and  Arkansas  is  small, 
very  green  in  color,  with  very  red  flesh;  the  spots 
are  gathered  chiefly  on  the  tail,  and  the  red  cut- 
throat mark  is  bright. 

From  the  Arkansas  River  to  the  Rio  Grande 
over  the  Sangre  de  Cristo  Mountains  is  again  but 
a  step,  —  a  short  step,  but  a  very  higji  one.  This 
the  trout  has  in  some  way  crossed.  Here  again 
we  may  imagine  glacial  lakes  now  drained  as  the 
way  of  passage,  or,  still  better,  we  may  say  we 
do  not  know.  The  transfer  must  have  been  an 
old  one,  for  the  trout  in  the  Rio  Grande2  is  visibly 
different,  the  difference  consisting  in  the  larger 
scales  and  smaller  size  of  the  black  spots.  Once 
more  across  the  main  divide  we  follow  the  trout, 
from  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  those 
of  the  Colorado.  Here  again  the  point  of  trans- 
fer is  unknown,  and  here  once  more  the  imagina- 
tion and  the  glaciers  must  fill  up  the  gap.  It 
is  not  far  from  Rio  Chama  over  to  the  Rio  San 

1  The   "Greenback    Trout"  of  the  Arkansas  and    Platte   is 
Salmo  mykiss  stomias  Cope. 

2  The  trout  of  the  Rio  Grande  is  Salmo  mykiss  spilurus  Cope. 
Its  range  extends  farther  southward  than  any  other  known  form, 
as  far  as  the  mountains  of  Chihuahua. 


HOW  THE    TROUT  CAME    TO   CALIFORNIA.       2?$ 

Juan.  In  the  beautiful  streams  of  Western  Colo- 
rado the  trout  have  made  themselves  at  home, 
and  their  abundance  here  is  scarcely  less  than  in 
their  chosen  haunts  in  Washington  and  Alaska. 
Already  the  sage-brush  trail  which  leads  to 
Trapper's  Lake  and  the  cliffs  along  Eagle  River  is 
strewn  with  tin  cans,  newspapers,  cigar  stumps, 
and  other  debris  of  civilization.  Splendid  trout 
still  lurk  in  the  depths  of  the  wild  canon  "  de  las 
Animas  Perdidas,"  above  Hermosa  and  Durango. 
The  trout  of  the  Colorado  River 1  most  resemble 
those  of  the  Rio  Grande,  but  they  change  a  good 
deal  with  variations  in  surroundings.  They  show 
a  tendency  to  orange  rather  than  purple  shades 
on  the  fins,  the  spots  are  small  and  largely  on  the 
tail,  and  the  scales  are  smaller  than  in  most  of  the 
others.  The  sides  show  often  a  red  lateral  band 
more  distinct  than  in  any  other  form  thus  far 
mentioned.  The  cut-throat  mark  is  still  clear,  as 
in  all  trout  east  of  the  Cascades  and  the  Sierra 
Nevada. 

In  the  Arkansas  basin,  in  a  bend  of  the  main 
divide,  high  above  the  river,  lies  a  pair  of  glacial 
lakes,  shut  in  by  one  moraine  and  separated  by 
another.  These  are  the  Twin  Lakes,  beloved  of 
anglers  and  famous  for  their  magnificent  mountain- 
setting.  In  these  lakes  are  two  kinds  of  trout, 
different  in  size,  color,  character  of  flesh,  way  of 
living,  and  choice  of  bait.  Dr.  Evermann  and  I 
visited  the  lake  in  1889.  We  found  but  one  kind, 
the  ordinary  Greenback  Trout  of  the  Arkansas, 

1  The  trout  of  the  Colorado  Basin  is  Salmo  mykiss  pleuriticus 
Cope. 


2j6  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

and  went  away  contented  with  that.  A  much 
better  angler,  Mr.  Charles  J.  Fisher  of  Leadville, 
was  not  satisfied  with  our  conclusions,  and  insisted 
that  we  should  go  back  with  him.  We  did  so,  and 
were  rewarded  by  many  specimens  of  the  beautiful 
"  Yellow-fin  Trout,"  1  first  introduced  to  science 
in  1889.  This  is  a  large  trout  with  bright  yellow 
fins,  a  yellow  stripe  along  the  sides,  pale  flesh, 
and  the  black  spots  very  small  and  all  gathered  on 
the  tail.  It  has  not  yet  been  found  in  any  other 
waters.  It  is  very  different  in  structure  and  aspect 
from  the  Greenback  Trout  which  swarms  with  it 
in  the  Twin  Lakes.  It  must  be  descended  from 
the  Colorado  Trout,  which  inhabits  the  other  side 
of  the  Divide.  How  it  crossed  the  Saguache 
Mountains  from  the  Gunnison  or  from  the  Roaring 
Fork,  no  one  can  now  say,  but  that  this  crossing 
was  a  fact  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt. 

At  this  point  the  "  lay  of  the  land  "  renders  a 
diversion  necessary.  When  you  come  overland  to 
San  Francisco  by  way  of  the  Central  Pacific, 
after  you  have  passed  Ogden  an  hour  or  so,  you 
will  notice  a  break  in  the  mountains  to  the  north- 
ward. Through  this  break  to  the  Snake  River  the 
waters  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake  once  flowed.  It 
was  not  a  salt  lake  then,  and  it  was  much  larger 
than  now.  The  old  lake  has  been  called  Lake 
Bonneville.  You  may  trace  its  former  boundaries 
as  terraces  upon  the  slopes  of  the  hills.  You  can 
see  them  from  the  car  windows,  looking  out  in 
almost  any  direction.  Through  this  break  once 

1  The  Yellow-fin  Trout  of  Twin  Lakes  is  Salmo  my  kiss  mac- 
donaldi  Jordan  &  Evermann- 


HOW  THE    TROUT  CAME   TO   CALIFORNIA.       2/7 

came  up  the  trout  *  from  the  Snake  River  to 
Utah  Lake,  Jordan  River,  Bear  River,  and  Provo 
River.  It  came  into  all  the  sparkling  streams  of 
the  Uintah  and  the  Wahsatch  which  now  find  their 
end  in  the  salt  and  alkali  of  the  Great  Basin.  The 
trout  in  Utah  Lake  are  large  with  large  scales  and 
small  spots,  and  the  spots  are  scattered  over  the 
body  fore  and  aft  as  in  the  trout  of  the  Columbia. 
Another  offshoot  from  the  Columbia  Trout  is 
found  in  the  bed  of  the  old  Lake  Lahontan,  —  a 
glacial  lake  now  long  since  drained,  in  whose  basin 
lie  Pyramid  Lake,  Truckee  River,  and  the  great 
alkaline  sink  of  the  Humboldt.  In  Lake  Tahoe,2 
the  most  beautiful  lake  in  all  our  country,  the  Tahoe 
trout  appears  to  its  best  advantage.  It  is  a  big 
strong  gamy  fish,  with  small  scales  and  large  black 
spots,  the  spots  being  scattered  over  head  and  belly 
as  well  as  on  the  tail.  The  Tahoe3  Trout  is  found 

1  The  trout    of  the    Great   Basin    of  Utah   are   Salmo  ttiykiss 
virginalis. 

2  The  Trout   of  Lake  Tahoe  is  Salmo  mykiss  hmshawi  Gill  & 
Jordan,  named   for   its  discoverer,  the  well-known  ornithologist. 
The  same  trout  is  found  also  in  Feather  River  and  Moquelumne 
Rivers,  both  on  the  west  side  of  the  Sierra  Nevada.     These  facts 
of  distribution  were  long  a  mystery,  but  it  has  been  lately  found 
that  both  were  the  result  of  artificial  plants  like  that  which  has 
brought   the   California    Rainbow   Trout   into  Truckee  River   in 
competition  with  the  "  cut-throat  "  henshawi.     Dr.  Willard  Platt 
of  Prattsville,  California,  planted  in  1884,  1,000  young  trout  from 
Truckee  River  in  the  streams    of   the  Big  Meadows  of  Plumas. 
About  the  same  time  trout  were  taken  from  the  Carson  River  and 
placed   in   the   Blue   Lakes  at  the  head  of   the  Moquelumne,  in 
Alpine  County. 

8  The  anglers  find  two  kinds  of  trout  in  Lake  Tahoe,  —  the  Black 
Trout,  or  "  Snipe,"  which  reaches  a  small  size,  and  the  Silver  Trout, 
which  reaches  splendid  dimensions.  The  largest  Silver  Trout  on 
record  was  taken  near  Tahoe  City  and  sent  in  1878  to  General 
Grant.  It  weighed  twenty-eight  pounds.  I  have  carefully  compared 


2/8  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

not  only  in  Lake  Tahoe  and  its  outlet,  but  in 
Humboldt  River  and  in  every  suitable  stream  and 
lake  in  the  Great  Basin  of  Nevada,  as  its  cousin 
virginalis  is  found  in  the  Great  Basin  of  Utah. 
As  Lake  Bonneville  was  drained  to  the  north,  so 
was  Lake  Lahontan  to  the  northeast,  and  the 
great  Snake  River  found  room  for  all  their 
waters.  From  its  great  resources,  it  stocked  them 
all  with  trout,  and  the  falling  of  the  waters  has  left 
these  trout  to  isolation  and  therefore  to  change. 

Another  of  these  old  lake  basins  is  that  of 
Southeastern  Oregon,  the  "  Lake  Idaho "  of 
geologists,  including  Malheur,  Summer,  Goose, 
and  Christmas  Lakes  and  their  tributaries.  In 
these  many  lakes  and  streams  trout  doubtless 
occur,  and  these  have  doubtless  undergone  modi- 
fications. But  the  varieties  thus  formed  are  yet  to 
be  studied  and  to  be  named. 

Coming  back  to  the  Colorado  Basin,  we  find  its 
trout  spread  far  and  wide  in  the  mountain  streams. 
Between  the  valley  of  the  Colorado  and  that  of  the 
San  Joaquin  stands  the  great  main  chain  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  full  of  trout-brooks,  made  up  of 
rocky  walls  which  no  trout  can  ever  pass.  To  the 
southward  this  great  wall  breaks  up  into  detached 
ranges  now  separated  by  Valleys  of  Death;  fiery 
deserts  and  alkaline  sinks,  some  of  them  below 
the  level  of  the  sea;  burning  wastes  of  cactus  and 

a  seven-pound  "  Silver  Trout "  taken  at  Tahoe  City,  with  the 
ordinary  henshawi,  and  find  no  real  or  permanent  difference.  The 
Silver  Trout  are  the  large  ones  living  in  the  depths  and  spawning 
in  the  lake.  The  Black  Trout  live  near  shore,  and  spawn  in  the 
stream.  The  Silver  Trout  may  sometime  become  differentiated, 
but  is  not  yet  a  separate  species  or  subspecies. 


HOW  THE    TROUT  CAME   TO   CALIFORNIA.       2/9 

greasewood,  enlivened  only  by  the  rattle  of  the 
Sidewinder.  In  the  glacial  period  this  region  had  a 
different  climate.  Melting  ice  once  filled  the  terri- 
ble deserts  of  Amargosa  and  Panamint  with  sweet 
waters.  In  some  way  or  other  this  region  may 
have  been  traversed  by  the  trout.  I  once  thought 
that  from  the  Colorado  to  the  Kern1  the  trout  must 
have  come  into  California.  It  may  be  so  ;  but  if  our 
theories  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance,  there  is 
an  easier  way.  If  the  trout  came  from  the  Colorado 
to  the  Kern,  it  has  in  the  transition  lost  most  of  the 
red  of  its  cut-throat  mark,  but  not  all  of  it.  The 
scales  became  somewhat  larger,  the  red  band  on 
the  side  more  distinct,  and  the  spots  extended  for- 
wards. In  all  these  regards  we  come  nearer  to  the 
trout  of  the  Walla  Walla  region,  the  one  we  call 
Salmo  my  kiss  gibbsii;  and  while  it  is  possible  that 
the  Kern  Trout  {gilberti)  came  from  the  Colorado 
trout  (pleuriticus),  which  they  greatly  resemble,  my 
present  impression  is  that  they  did  not. 

Let  us  try  this  supposition.  The  old  mykiss 
stock  filled  the  Columbia.  After  the  lava  flows 
had  formed  Shoshone  and  American  falls,  the  trout 
of  the  Upper  Columbia  (lewisi)  were  shut  off  from 
the  others.  Perhaps  the  waterfall  of  the  Cascades 
separated  those  of  the  Middle  Columbia  from  those 
of  the  lower  portion  of  the  river.  In  any  event,  the 
gibbsii  became  somewhat  different,  losing  in  part 
its  cut-throat  mark,  and  passing  into  the  small- 
scaled  white-throated  form  we  call  the  Steel-head, 

1  The  Trout  of  Kern  River  is  Salmo  gairdneri  gilbertt  Jordan, 
named  for  its  discoverer,  Dr.  Charles  H.  Gilbert,  who  has  been 
for  twenty  years  my  colleague  in  the  study  of  our  fishes. 


280  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

or  Salmo  gairdneri.  This  gairdneri  we  regard  as  a 
species  different  from  Salmo  myldss.  Its  mouth  is 
smaller,  and  the  sides  more  red.  But  the  fading  of 
the  cut-throat  mark  is  the  chief  sign  by  which  we 
may  know  it  from  its  ancestors;  and  this  must 
have  passed  away  by  gentle  stages,  for  in  the  Kern 
trout  and  the  Shasta  trout —  its  descendants,  if  this 
supposition  is  true  —  there  are  still  traces  of  the  red 
dash,  which  the  common  Steel-head  no  longer 
shows. 

Let  us  suppose  that  the  descendants  of  the 
gibbsii  entered  the  Lower  Columbia  when  the 
blockade  at  the  Cascades  was  worn  through. 
They  must  have  found  the  sea  congenial,  for  with 
the  gairdneri  we  find  more  of  the  migrating  habit 
than  in  any  of  the  mykiss  forms.  Trout  who  go 
to  the  sea  must  some  time  come  back  to  the 
mountains,  for  all  trout  and  salmon  cast  their  eggs. 
in  the  gravel  of  fresh-water  brooks  or  cold  lakes. 
Migrating  trout  go  up  all  the  streams  from  Point 
Concepcion  to  Vancouver  Island.  Ocean  feeding 
makes  large  trout.  Ten  pounds  is  not  uncommon, 
and  they  have  been  known  to  run  as  high  as  thirty. 
These  sea-run  fishes  are  known  as  Steel-heads,  or 
Salmon  Trout,  and  are  often  taken  for  salmon. 
They  are  trout,  nevertheless,  not  salmon  at  all. 
The  name  Steel-head,  being  used  for  no  other  fish, 
is  well  applied  to  them. 

They  are  a  good  and  gamy  fish  in  their  season, 
but  are  not  always  so  when  taken  in  the  rivers. 
The  Steel-head  spawns  in  the  winter,  later  than  the 
salmon,  and  when  taken  as  spent  fish  in  February 
or  March,  it  is  often  coarse  and  poor.  It  then 


HOW  THE    TROUT  CAME   TO   CALIFORNIA.       28 1 

appears  in  the  markets  as  "  Salmon  "  or  "  Salmon 
Trout."  It  is  sold  at  a  low  price  as  "  poor  man's 
Salmon."  But  to  this  the  anglers  object.  For 
when  it  first  enters  the  streams,  the  Steel-head  is  a 
noble  fish,  and  worthy  of  the  best  efforts  of  the 
fly-fisher.  Besides,  the  young  Steel-heads  on  their 
way  back  to  the  sea  are  not  less  attractive  to  the 
lover  of  fishes. 

If  we  follow  the  Steel-head  l  northward,  we  find 
that  it  has  invaded  the  waters  still  occupied  by 
its  grandfather  my  kiss.  It  has  gone  into  Eraser 
River,  where  its  landlocked  progeny  have  become 
the  great  white  trout  of  the  Kamloops  and  Koote- 
nay  Lakes,  the  Stit-tse2  of  the  Indians.  This  trout 
does  not  differ  much  from  the  Steel-head ;  but  its 
large  scales,  silvery  color,  and  sleek  aspect  give  it 
an  appearance  different  from  its  cut-throat  ances- 
try, which  lives  with  it  in  the  same  waters.  Differ- 
ent species  the  two  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  yet  they 
belong  to  the  same  series.  They  stand  at  opposite 
ends  of  a  long  chain  that  still  has  many  links,  and 
that  has  lost  many  more.  For  each  link  in  the  great 
chain  there  is  a  long  and  an  eventful  history. 

Allied  to  the  Kamloops  trout  is  another  inter- 
esting form,  —  the  Blueback  Trout3  of  Crescent 
Lake  and  other  ponds  in  the  Olympic  Mountains. 
This  form  has  been  only  lately  made  known  to 

1  The  Steel-head  Trout  is  Salmo  gairdncri  Richardson,  named 
in  1836  for  its  discoverer,  Dr.  Gairdner,  an  enthusiastic  young 
naturalist,  stationed  at  Fort  Vancouver,  in  the  employ  of  the  Fur 
Company. 

2  The  Stit-tse  Trout  is  Salmo gairdneri  kamloops  Jordan. 

8  The  Blueback  or  Beardslee  Trout  of  Lake  Crescent  is  Salmo 
beardsleei  Jordan  &  Scale,  named  for  its  discoverer. 


282  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

science  through  the  enthusiastic  devotion  of  Rear- 
Admiral  Beardslee,  who  regards  it  as  the  finest  of 
all  trout,  and  who  has  taken  specimens  of  ten 
pounds'  weight  in  this  wonderful  lake.  This  form 
differs  from  the  Steel-head  in  its  large  scales  and 
large  head,  and  is  one  of  the  best  marked  of  all  the 
trout-forms  in  the  northwest. 

In  the  same  lake  occurs  another  splendid  trout 
of  large  size,  the  Crescent  Trout.1  It  seems  to  be 
also  an  offshoot  from  the  Steel-head,  but  its  head 
is  quite  different  in  cut  and  much  larger  in  size. 
Its  scales  are  considerably  smaller  than  in  the 
Beardslee  trout,  and  in  both  the  black  spots  are 
small  and  scattered. 

If  what  I  think  to-day  is  the  truth  for  to-morrow, 
the  Steel-head  passed  southward  from  the  Colum- 
bia along  the  California  coast,  entering  the  brooks 
of  the  Coast  Range,  spawning  there  and  passing 
back  into  the  sea,  —  but  not  always,  for  some- 
times it  had  gone  so  far  from  the  ocean  that  it 
could  never  get  back  in  its  lifetime,  —  the  whole 
western  flank  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  being  full 
of  trout  brooks.  The  trout  came  into  them.  They 
stayed  because  it  was  good  to  be  there.  And 
from  Steel-head  stock  may  have  come  the  splendid 
trout  of  the  Kern  already  mentioned,  Salmo  gaird- 
neri  gilberti.  It  is  probably  more  like  the  original 
Steel-head  than  the  Steel-head  itself  now  is ;  for  it 
has  red  under  the  throat,  like  its  great-grandfather 
mykiss.  In  any  event,  it  fills  the  Kern  River  now, 
and  is  ready  for  any  angler  who  invades  its  rocky 
fastnesses. 

1  The  Crescent  Trout  is  Salmo  crescentis  Jordan  &  Beardslee. 


HOW   THE    TROUT  CAME    TO   CALIFORATIA.       283 

The  trout  in  the  main  Kern  River  grow  to  a  large 
size.  Others  have  clambered  into  the  mountain 
meadows,  and  they  are  very  small  and  very  bright 
in  color.  Those  separated  from  the  rest  by  the 
falls  of  Agua  Bonita1  in  Volcano  Creek,  on  the 
flanks  of  Mount  Whitney,  are  now  noticeably  dif- 
ferent from  any  other  which  we  know.  The  scales 
are  very  small,  and  barely  touch  each  other;  the 
fins  and  bands  are  yellow,  and  not  red ;  the  cut- 
throat mark  is  yellow  too,  and  the  black  spots  are 
profusely  scattered  everywhere.  In  color  like  the 
Yellow-fin  Trout  of  the  Colorado  Lakes,  this  Golden 
Trout  of  Mount  Whitney  is  different  in  other  re- 
spects;  and  of  all  the  trout  on  record  it  is  smallest 
and  prettiest.  From  Agua  Bonita  anglers  have 
taken  it  to  the  east  side  of  Mount  Whitney,  and  it 
is  now  found  in  the  rivers  running  down  into 
Owen's  Lake. 

The  trout  ascended  the  San  Joaquin,  sent  up 
also  side  colonies  not  only  to  the  Kern  but  to 
King's  River,  the  Merced,  Tuolumne,  Stanislaus, 
Calaveras,  Moquelumne,  and  all  the  other  moun- 
tain tributaries.  What  changes  took  place  in  these 
streams  we  do  not  know,  for  it  will  take  a  long 
time  to  go  a-fishing  in  them  all.  There  is  enough 
yet  to  be  found  out  in  the  Sierra  Nevada  to  in- 
terest ichthyologists  and  anglers  alike  for  many 
future  generations. 

The  San  Joaquin  meets  the  Sacramento  end  to 
end,  and  the  two  break  through  the  Coast  Range 
to  the  sea.  In  the  Upper  Sacramento  is  occasion- 

1  The  Golden  Trout  of  Mount  Whitney  is  Salmo  gairdneri  agiia 
bonita  Jordan. 


284  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

ally  taken  a  trout  which  the  Indians  call  No-Shee,1 
or  Nissuee,  and  which  must  resemble  the  original 
stock  of  the  San  Joaquin  even  more  closely  than 
the  Kern  trout  does.  It  has  the  small  scales  of 
the  Kern  River  fish,  but  the  red  cut-throat  mark  is 
gone,  and  the  spots  are  few  and  sparse.  It  is  a 
large  trout,  and  is  but  rarely  taken,  the  specimens 
now  known  being  from  the  McCloud. 

The  common  trout  of  the  Upper  Sacramento 
may  be  descended  from  this ;  but  its  scales  are 
larger,  its  body  deeper,  the  red  band  on  the  sides 
more  distinct,  and  there  is  at  least  a  trace  of  the 
cut-throat  mark,  showing  where  its  tribe  came 
from.  This  trout  is  the  one  distributed  from 
the  hatchery  at  Baird  as  the  California  Rainbow 
Trout,2  and  planted,  often  ineffectively,  in  many 
Eastern  rivers,  —  ineffectively,  I  say,  because  of  its 
bad  habit  of  dropping  down  with  the  current  and 
losing  itself  in  unwholesome  waters  on  its  way  to 
the  sea.  The  true  Rainbow  Trout  is,  however, 
somewhat  different.  That  name  belongs  to  the 
common  trout  of  the  Coast  Range ;  smaller,  with 
large  scales,  white  throat,  arid  varying  much  with 
streams  and  food.  The  large  scales  seem  to  mark 
a  change  on  which  we  make,  provisionally,  a  divi- 
sion of  species.  The  little  trout  of  the  Coast 
Range3  is  likewise  an  offshoot  of  the  Steel-head. 

1  The  No-Shee  Trout  is  Salmo  gairdneri  stonei  Jordan,  named 
for  its  discoverer  Livingston  Stone,  the  veteran  fish-culturist  of 
the  U.  S.  Hatchery  at  Baird,  California. 

2  The  Rainbow  Trout  of  the  Upper  Sacramento  is  Salmo  gaird- 
neri shasta  Jordan. 

8  The  Trout  of  the  Coast  Range  is  Salmo  iridens  Gibbons  ;  the 
type  locality  of  the  species  being  San  Leandro  Creek,  in  Alameda 
County. 


HOW  THE    TROUT  CAME   TO   CALIFORNIA.       285 

For  all  we  know  it  is  constantly  receiving  acces- 
sions from  the  small  Steel-heads  which  do  not  find 
their  way  to  the  sea.  It  is  not  always  easy  to  tell 
where  Steel-head  trout  leaves  off  and  Brook  trout 
begins.  The  Rainbow  Trout  occurs  in  the  coast- 

o 

wise  brooks  all  the  way  from  Oregon  to  the  Mexi- 
can line.  It  abounds  in  Rio  San  Luis  Rey,  in  San 
Diego  County,  and  I  have  heard  of  its  occurrence 
across  the  border  in  Mexico.  In  no  two  streams 
does  this  Coast  Range  trout  seem  to  be  exactly  the 
same,  and  in  all  it  is  small,  speckled,  and  vigorous. 
In  one  stream  of  the  Redwood  country,  Purisima 
Creek,  in  San  Mateo  County,  there  is  a  high 
waterfall  where  it  drops  into  the  sea.  No  trout 
can  climb  this  fall,  and  those  who  are  above  it  have 
been  there  for  many  generations.  These  Purisima 
Trout,  befitting  their  name,  are  the  brightest  in 
color  of  all  the  trout  of  the  mountains.  When  the 
trout  which  have  gone  down  over  the  Purisima 
falls  reappear  in  other  streams,  as  they  often  do,- 
we  can  still  know  them  by  the  brightness  of  their 
colors. 

Northward  the  Brook  Trout,  or  Rainbow  Trout, 
grows  more  distinct  from  its  relatives.  Its  colors 
in  Oregon  and  Washington  are  more  marked,  its 
scales  larger,  its  mouth  smaller.  About  the  mouth 
of  the  Columbia  it  becomes  the  form  known  as 
Salmo  irideus  masoni.  Here  no  one  could  fail  to 
distinguish  it  from  the  Steel-head.  The  Steel-head, 
Cut-throat,  and  Rainbow  are  all  found  here, — 
three  different  generations  of  trout,  each  with  a 
long  history.  Here  each  one  is  a  distinct  "  spe- 
cies," beyond  all  doubt  or  question.  It  is  equally 


286  SCIENCE  SKETCHES. 

true  that  in  other  regions  these  species  lose  their 
distinctness.  In  the  Upper  Columbia,  Steel-head 
and  Cut-throat  seem  hopelessly  entangled,  as  in 
California  the  Steel-head  is  confused  with  the 
Rainbow  Trout.  From  the  standpoint  of  the 
evolutionist  this  is  delightful,  while  it  breaks  up 
every  system  or  scheme  of  the  systematic  natu- 
ralist. But  the  angler  likes  it  well  enough ;  and 
to  him,  whether  there  be  one  species  or  three, 
one  variety  or  twenty,  —  all  are  equally  delight- 
ful. And  whatever  the  difficulties,  one  who  writes 
on  the  trout  of  California  does  not  willingly  drop 
his  pen  at  the  end  of  his  theme.  The  most  charm- 
ing of  fishes,  the  most  beautiful  of  lands,  —  when 
the  two  are  brought  together,  one  wishes  to  say  of 
them  something  better  than  has  yet  been  said. 
It  is  with  regret  that  he  lays  down  the  pen  in  con- 
fession of  inability  to  say  it. 

The  habitat  of  each  of  the  forms  of  trout  is  indi- 
cated in  the  following  list :  — 

CUT-THROAT  TROUT  :   SALMO  MYKISS. 

mykiss     .     .  Alaska. 

clarki  .     .     .  Washington  and  Oregon,  chiefly  west  of  the 

Cascades. 

bouvieri .      .  Waha  Lake. 

lewisi      .     .  Snake   River,   above   the   Falls  and   Upper 

Missouri. 

stomias   .     .  Upper  Platte  and  Arkansas, 

spilurus  .     .  Rio  Grande. 

pleuriticus  .  Rio  Colorado. 

macdonaldi  Twin  Lakes. 

virginalis      .  Lake  Bonneville. 

henshawi     .  Lake  Lahontan. 

? .  Lake  Idaho. 


HOW  THE   TROUT  CAME   TO   CALIFORNIA.       28 / 

gibbsii     .     .     Columbia   Basin,   from    Shoshone   Falls   to 
Cascades. 


STEEL-HEAD  TROUT  :  SALMO  GAIRDNERI. 

gairdneri      .  Coastwise  streams,  from  Puget  Sound  to  Pt. 

Sur. 

kamloops     .  Lakes  of  Upper  Columbia  and  Fr^er  River- 

beardsleei    .  Lake  Crescent. 

crescentis    .  Lake  Crescent. 

stonei      .     .  Upper  Sacramento. 

shasta      .     .  Upper  Sacramento. 

gilbert!    .     .  Kern  River,  etc. 

agua-bonita  Volcano  Creek,  etc. 


RAINBOW  TROUT  :  SALMO  IRIDEUS- 

irideus     .     .     Coast  Range  brooks  in  California 
masorii     .     .     Coast  Range  brooks  in  Oregon. 

The  following  very  hypothetical  diagr?^ 
their  relationships  :  — 


MYKI55 


BOUVIERl 


SEVENTH 


DEC111MO 


MAY  2  5  1960 


JjD  21-50m-8,'32 


vn 

YB 


' 


, 


